Sonatype's Partnership with Vista Equity Partners

In November 2019, global investment firm Vista Equity Partners announced it had acquired a majority share of Maryland-based tech company Sonatype. Sonatype describes itself as a “company that scales DevOps through open source governance and software supply chain automation.” An exclusive investor in enterprise software, Vista understands the importance and demand of software innovation.

Sonatype CEO Wayne Jackson and CTO Brian Fox addressed the announcement in a company blog post. Jackson and Fox’s message emphasized the value of the partnership, stating, “At Sonatype, our vision, strategy, and execution have long been focused on helping software engineering teams scale DevOps by automatically harnessing all of the good that open source has to offer, while minimizing the inherent risks. Vista, perhaps more than anyone else in the world, understands our vision and appreciates the strategic importance of our mission. For this reason, they are the perfect organization for us to partner with as we continue to grow and scale.”

Vista Equity Partners & Sonatype Timeline

Vista viewed this partnership as an opportunity to support Sonatype’s growth in DevOps systems used by software companies around the world. Patrick Severson, Senior Managing Director at Vista, said of the growth opportunities, “Open source tools are an invaluable resource that enable companies and developers to keep up with the demand to deliver software applications at a rapidly accelerating pace. Wayne (Jackson) and his team have built an impressive business and an innovative portfolio of products that empower software development teams to continuously innovate responsibly and with the highest quality and most secure open source across every stage of the digital supply chain. We are pleased to partner with Sonatype as they continue to grow their company in the large and rapidly expanding DevOps market.”

About Vista Equity Partners

Founded in 2000 by Robert F. Smith, Vista Equity Partners is focused on helping software, data and technology-enabled companies sustainably grow and innovate in their markets. The Vista approach empowers their portfolio of companies with financial, technological and operational expertise to accelerate growth and drive enduring market value. Through private equity, permanent capital, credit and public equity investment strategies, the company has responsibly delivered on commitments to investors for over two decades.

In addition to the successful investment portfolio managed by Vista, the company is dedicated to making positive change in the communities in which they live and work. The company has offices based in Austin, Chicago, New York, Oakland and San Francisco. In a joint effort with the company’s Founder, Chairman and CEO Robert F. Smith, Vista is committed to companies that support STEAM education, including Code.org. Vista entered a multi-year commitment that prepared current teachers to begin teaching coding programs in their districts.. Another Code.org program Vista has been involved with is the “Hour of Code” series held at Vista’s office in Austin, where children can take classes to learn coding basics.

To stay up to date with the company’s latest developments, connect with Vista Equity Partners on LinkedIn, on the investment firm’s YouTube Channel and via Instagram.