Commvault Exploring Possible Company Sale: Report

The company, one of the leading providers of data protection and data management technologies, has received inquiries from private equity companies and strategic buyers, including major software company investor Thoma Bravo, according to Reuters.

Data protection and management software developer Commvault may be looking for a new owner.

Reuters Friday reported that Commvault is working with Goldman Sachs to explore a possible sale of the company after receiving inquiries from private equity companies and strategic buyers about purchasing the company from a number of potential buyers.

Reuters, citing information from four unnamed people the news site said were familiar with the matter, said one potential acquirer is Thoma Bravo, which has a long history of acquiring software companies.

Commvault, in response to a CRN request for more information, replied in an email that the company does not comment on rumors or speculations. A Thoma Bravo spokesperson declined to comment on the news.

Commvault is one of the top developers of data protection and data management technology. The company’s flagship Commvault Cloud offers cloud-native data protection for cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments. It also offers cyber recovery, identity resilience, Data and AI security, and storage efficiency and cost optimization.

Commvault’s stock price closed the trading day Friday sharply higher at $85.69 per share, up from its opening of $77.03 per share on the news of the acquisition interest. In after-hours trading, the stock rose before stabilizing at around $88.87 per share.

Commvault has a current market capitalization of about $3.9 billion.

Commvault competes in a crowded data protection and data management market. Among its largest competitors are Cohesity, which in late 2024 acquired Veritas’ NetBackup business to become a market leader in this space; Veeam, which recently has acquired technology around observability and data security; and Rubrik, which has placed a significant bet around data security.

Thoma Bravo includes a wide range of cybersecurity and infrastructure companies in its investment portfolio, including Illumio, Imprivata, ConnectWise, Delinea, Exabeam, Proofpoint, and Sophos.

Dave Hiechel, president and CEO of Eagle Technologies, a Salina, Kansas-based solution provider and Commvault channel partner, told CRN that while discussions of stock prices and acquisitions are above his pay grade, he can understand why there’s interest in Commvault.

Eagle Technologies is pretty much exclusive with Commvault as a partner for data protection and management technologies, Hiechel said.

“We think highly of the product,” he said. “It’s in our five-year strategy to continue with that and to build our MSP business around Commvault as opposed to other solutions. We’re always actively looking at things, and we have two initiatives right now to get trained on Cohesity and Veeam, and we discuss that progress every week at our tech meeting. And most of the time, it’s, ‘Well, they don’t do it as well as Commvault. They don’t do this as well. I don’t like this as well.’ Some of it is, we’re just really good at Commvault.”

Commvault has significantly changed for the better since it brought on Sanjay Mirchandani as its CEO back in 2019, Hiechel said.

“It solves a lot of problems for our customers, and it seems like they’ve made some good acquisitions, although they are still trying to figure out how to market some of them,” he said. “That doesn’t mean they’re bad acquisitions, but I don’t think they know how to sell it yet, including [TrapX, developer of Commvault’s ThreatWise technology,] being one of those, but they’re getting there.”

About 35 percent to 40 percent of Eagle Technologies’ revenue comes from Commvault, Hiechel said.

“We think it’s a big enterprise play,” he said. “I mean, we still think it’s the only enterprise play on the market. I mean, if you tell me that there was something different, I would be shocked. If there’s a petabyte opportunity, Commvault still seems to be a winner.”