IT automation software maker Puppet is being acquired by a private equity owned company and Minneapolis-based Perforce Software.
Terms of the deal are not being disclosed but the two companies noted that the transaction will take the Perforce headcount from 1,200 to 1,700, indicating that Puppet’s employee base is headed to the new owner.
Puppet will be a business unit within Perforce and deliver Puppet-branded tools. It will work alongside other DevOps businesses within the Perforce portfolio. Puppet was one of the early companies to build out the idea of DevOps, which combined software development and operations to ensure new software can get into production more efficiently.
Puppet is one of Portland’s highest profile, homegrown software companies. It raised $130 million from investors and was one of several software startups that helped the region shift from a hardware-driven ecosystem to one that also includes software.
Founder Luke Kanies was also one of several founders in the mid-2000s to draw venture capital to the region and keep the company here instead of moving to Silicon Valley, at the behest of investors.
With this deal, Puppet CEO Yvonne Wassenaar, who joined the company in 2019, said the company can better serve customers as part of a strategic tools platform and not one of many vendor solutions.
"What began as a journey to address our customers' needs through increased investment in Puppet has emerged as a compelling opportunity to join forces with Perforce Software,” she said in an open letter on the company’s website. “Perforce’s mission is to help technology teams solve the hardest problems in DevOps, so nothing stalls innovation. Similar to Puppet, Perforce has an incredible customer base and is a trusted DevOps leader delivering digital creation & planning, developer productivity tools, and automated testing & quality.”
Puppet, founded in 2005, has raised more than $130 million from investors. The company had been on a path to an IPO, as Wassenaar, in 2020, discussed that milestone as she built out the board.However, the IPO window that opened last year appears to have shut amid macro-economic uncertainties.
Perforce is owned by investors Francisco Partners and Clearlake Capital Group. The move helps the company adds capabilities that allow its enterprise customers to manage and secure their infrastructure, according to a news release.
“With Puppet, we will be providing our customers with access to a product portfolio that enables them to drive innovation on a global scale,” said CEO Mark Ties in a written statement. “We look forward to welcoming the Puppet team and continuing to offer the level of customer support, services, and community Puppet has established in the market.”
Puppet has more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue, according Wassenaar. Puppet's customers include 85% of the world’s largest banks and 80% of the top tech companies globally. Combined, Puppet and Preforce will serve 40 companies of the Fortune 50.
“I could not be more proud of the success we’ve brought to the industry and I couldn’t be more bullish on what we can continue to deliver to the market as part of the Perforce family with our steadfast focus on solving hard problems and providing infrastructure and operations teams peace of mind,” wrote Wassenaar.
