Apax Partners, a private equity firm, has acquired ThoughtWorks, an IT consultancy with more than 4,500 employees across 42 offices in 15 countries. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2017.
ThoughtWorks, launched in 1993, specializes in agile software development. The company's key focus areas include digital strategy & service design; experience design; lean product development; portfolio design & management; and customer research & testing.
It sounds like Apax plans to invest in a growth strategy rather than cutting costs or reinventing ThoughtWorks.
Multiple sources, including ThoughtWorks CEO and President Guo Xiao, described how the company's software knowhow will remain a differentiator as customers pursue digital business transformation projects. Moreover, the IT consulting firm and the private equity firm specifically described a commitment to maintaining ThoughtWorks' inclusive culture.
ThoughtWorks is the second agile software-focused IT consulting firm acquired in recent days. The other was Summa Technologies, a $35 million firm that CGI acquired.
Apax typically invests in technology, telecom and services sectors, having invested over $11.3 billion since 2008.
