UC4 Software Purchased in Private Equity Deal Following Strong Growth

Private Equity Fund EQT VI to Purchase UC4 Software From The Carlyle Group for $270 Million [EUR 220 Million]; UC4 Continues Strong Growth With Further Investment in Product Innovation


BELLEVUE, WA--(Marketwire - Aug 13, 2012) - UC4, the world's largest independent IT Process Automation software company, today announced that private equity firm EQT VI has agreed to purchase the company from global asset manager The Carlyle Group. UC4 also disclosed financial results from fiscal year 2012 and the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 signaling continued strong corporate growth. The company attributes this growth to numerous factors, including a loyal and fast-growing customer base, industry-leading product innovation and a focus on helping customers activate next generation IT service models for Cloud, DevOps, and Big Data.

EQT is the leading private equity group in Northern Europe with nearly EUR 18 billion in raised capital. Carlyle Europe Technology Partners I, L.P. acquired UC4 in March 2006 and helped UC4 grow and develop into the recognized leader of IT Process Automation. In 2012, Gartner, Forrester, 451 Group and others consistently noted UC4's industry-leading products and position in the market.

Jason Liu, CEO of UC4, said, "We are delighted to have partnered with Carlyle, and are very excited to join with EQT VI in accelerating our growth, developing our company and supporting our customers." 

Per Franzén, Partner at EQT Partners in Germany and Investment Advisor to EQT VI, said, "We consider UC4 a highly attractive growth company and are impressed by its customer base and strong automation offering. The new Supervisory Board, consisting of a mix of highly relevant and experienced EQT Industrial Advisors, looks forward to support UC4's management team in driving further expansion into the rapidly growing Cloud Automation market."

Following more than 21 percent software license revenue growth in the past fiscal year to $76 million [EUR 62 million] in overall revenues, UC4 achieved another strong quarter ending July 2012. The company exceeded its first quarter plan by more than 12 percent and achieved more than 24 percent year-over-year license growth. "We are achieving these strong results even in a challenging economy on the strength of our products and because our employees are executing at a much higher level than our competitors." said Jason Liu. 

Additionally, during fiscal 2012, UC4 expanded its global footprint by opening offices in Poland and Singapore and complemented its product portfolio by offering Application Release Automation (ARA) on its existing ONE Automation platform. Application Release Automation represents a major area of focus and continued anticipated growth for the company. By addressing DevOps, Big Data and the move to IT as a service, UC4 is helping customers transition to Cloud and next-generation data architectures.

Michael Wand, Managing Director at The Carlyle Group, said, "UC4 is an excellent example of Carlyle value creation. Partnering with the founding management in 2006, we had the joint vision to create the largest independent IT automation software vendor through strong commitment to R&D, product innovation, marketing and sales focus, and three add-on acquisitions, including the merger with Appworx in the US. UC4 has delivered outstanding growth and returns, and we are proud to have supported Jason and his team in growing the company into the world's largest independent IT Process Automation vendor."

The transaction is subject to approval from the relevant authorities and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter 2012.

About UC4
UC4 Software is the world's largest independent IT Process Automation software company. UC4's ONE Automation platform delivers IT Process Automation for organizations facing increasingly dynamic applications and infrastructure, and those migrating to next generation service models for Cloud, DevOps and Big Data. ONE Automation unifies workload, application release, application process, run-book, data transfer, and VM automation, with predictive analytics based on complex event processing technology. Unified process automation is proven to help IT Operations gain greater control and significantly improve both service delivery and cost savings.

With 25 years of experience, UC4 automates tens of millions of operations a day for over 2,000 customers worldwide. Rethink IT automation at www.UC4.com.

Contact Information:

For More Information:
Casy Jones
Finn Partners for UC4 Software
312-329-3976
casy.jones@finnpartners.com