After 42 years operating on its own as a non-profit 501(c)(6) organization, CompTIA, a global IT training and certification vendor, is being acquired by two private equity firms in a deal that will split the organization into a for-profit business unit and a separate non-profit trade association starting in 2025.
The investment firms, H.I.G. Capital and Thoma Bravo, will jointly acquire the CompTIA brand and its information technology (IT) certification and training business and products, including the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) A+ exams and certifications.
Todd Thibodeaux, the president and CEO of CompTIA, told ChannelE2E that the acquisition will benefit the company by providing more money for the soon-to-be-separate side of the trade association to better serve its members with IT resources and assistance to grow their businesses.
“As the preeminent entry and mid-level certification brand in the IT/tech space, CompTIA plays a critical role in the tech workforce ecosystem through training and certifications,” said Thibodeaux. “We have awarded more than 3.6 million certifications to individuals around the world. To have an even greater impact, the business needs more access to capital, more access than the association can responsibly provide on its own. This is a way to achieve growth for the business and the association.”
The acquisition will also provide new funding for the organization to increase its current direct charitable giving from $5 million a year to more than $20 million to help organizations that support technology adoption, to help people gain access to careers in technology, and to groups that use technology to educate and enrich, he said.
Big Question from Analysts: Why This Deal Now?
IT analyst Jack E. Gold, president and principal analyst of J.Gold Associates, LLC, told ChannelE2E that his biggest question about the acquisition of CompTIA is, “Why are they selling out?”
Throughout the industry, “The IT certification training market is big, but It is not clear that it is a very profitable business, given a lot of universities and private groups are also working in this space,” said Gold. “Still, CompTIA had a decent reputation. I am not familiar with the management there, so I am not sure what their decision was to sell.”
At the same time, though, Gold said he does not see the change of ownership as significant.
“The buyout group probably thinks they can increase the profits and expand the business, and then sell it or go IPO,” he said. “That is generally why these kinds of private acquisitions happen. And Thoma Bravo may decide they can combine this with other companies in its portfolio to make a more attractive company to sell off. But my guess is that, ultimately, it will mean that fees for CompTIA services will likely increase.”
Another analyst, Rob Enderle, principal analyst of Enderle Group, said he sees some concerns with the acquisition.
“H.I.G. Capital has a reputation for being a bit of a sweatshop that operates using aggressive pricing and working its people incredibly hard,” said Enderle. “If they operate CompTIA the same way, then I would expect that firm to be less performant and have increasing issues retaining staff and meeting deadlines but, conversely, being very aggressive on pricing. Investment firms generally are extremely focused on profit margins to the exclusion of most everything else, and they tend to be very hard on the companies they acquire as a result.”
That will be a concern inside the companies that previously made up the old CompTIA, he said. “H.I.G. is financially successful, but this success appears to come at the cost of those working for the companies they acquire,” said Enderle.
How CompTIA Will Be Reorganized Under the Deal
The acquisition by H.I.G. and Thoma Bravo will see CompTIA split into two parts when it closes in early 2025 – the for-profit CompTIA certification and training business is being sold to the two investment firms, while its existing membership-based, 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization will be separated from CompTIA, will be given a new name and will operate as a separate entity. For now, it's referred to as 'the association,' Thibodeaux said.
The association is selling the CompTIA brand and all accompanying certification and training products and services, trademarks and domains, to a private equity partnership.
Following the completion of the deal, CompTIA events, including ChannelCon and others, will continue to be offered by the association, Thibodeaux told ChannelE2E. The association will also continue to maintain and keep its membership database, he said.
Still to be decided are issues including staffing, with some employees going to the association under its new name and others going to the for-profit CompTIA business unit, said Thibodeaux.
“The exact form of the division is yet to be fully determined, but it will become clearer over the next several weeks,” he added. It is unknown whether there will be any job cuts that result from the changes.
Thibodeaux said that U. S. regulatory agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, will review the planned transaction and decide if it can go through. Thoma Bravo also owns MSP tools platform vendor ConnectWise, which should not be a conflict because ConnectWise and CompTIA are in entirely different fields, he said.
“Similar regulatory reviews may take place in other markets around the world, such as in the European Union,” he added. “We do not anticipate any conflict to arise,” said Thibodeaux.
After the split, the non-profit association “will continue to advance the global IT industry and provide impactful benefits to help individuals and companies unlock their full potential,” said Thibodeaux. “This includes membership communities, cybersecurity education and services, market research, events, and education. As we have done for decades, we will expand and evolve as the IT channel and industry change.”
CompTIA and Association Leadership Plans
The association’s board will continue as it is today with no members carrying over, while the new investment firm owners of the CompTIA brand will have sole oversight of that organization, Thibodeaux said. He will lead the new CompTIA company as its CEO, while the leadership of the association will be determined in the coming weeks.
Macquarie Capital, Ropes & Gray LLP, and Polsinelli LLP are serving as advisors to H.I.G. and Thoma Bravo, according to the investment firms. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to CompTIA and Husch Blackwell LLP is serving as legal advisor.
CompTIA History 101
CompTIA began in 1982 and was originally called the Association of Better Computer Dealers (ABCD), according to Wikipedia. The name was changed later to the Computing Technology Industry Association.
CompTIA calls itself a powerful voice and advocate for the $5 trillion global information technology ecosystem and for the estimated 75 million industry and tech professionals who work in the industry. CompTIA provides vendor-neutral education, training, certifications, philanthropy and market research on a wide range of technology topics, including cybersecurity, new and emerging technologies, legislation and policies affecting the industry, and more. CompTIA also maintains a robust partner program worldwide, working with thousands of academic institutions, not-for-profits, job corps centers and other organizations to advance the technology industry.
ChannelE2E and MSSP Alert are media partners of CompTIA.
