Summit Partners -- which owns stakes in NinjaRMM and Red Canary -- plans to raise $7 billion for a new North America-focused fund known as Equity XI strategy, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The new fund could be good news for MSP software, IT automation and cybersecurity companies, ChannelE2E believes. Indeed, Summit Partners generally commits $75 million to $300 million of equity per growth investment, The Journal says.
Summit Partners is a well-known private equity investor across the MSP, MSSP and MDR (managed detection and response) markets. Key moves have included:
- 2011: Summit Partners acquired software, technology and NOC (network operations center) assets that became Continuum Managed Services. Thoma Bravo then acquired Continuum in 2017, and merged the business into ConnectWise in 2019.
- 2017: Summit Partners acquired Jamf, the Apple device management software specialist.
- 2019: Summit Partners invested in Red Canary, an MSSP and MDR (managed detection and response) solutions provider.
- 2020: Summit Partners invested in NinjaRMM.
Private Equity in the MSP Software & Services Platform Market
Meanwhile, the overall MSP software/technology platform market is now largely owned by private equity companies. Example investors and ownership stakes include:
- Insight Partners (Kaseya);
- Thoma Bravo (Barracuda, ConnectWise and N-able); and
- Vista Equity Partners (Datto).
