- Climb Advisor's M&A Weekly
- Posts
- Climb's M&A Weekly: Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Thoma Bravo, and Blackstone all feature
Climb's M&A Weekly: Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Thoma Bravo, and Blackstone all feature
Goldman Sachs Alternatives acquires a majority stake in NAVEX and Blackstone invests in NetBrain
Climb Advisors Weekly
July 27, 2025
Welcome back to the Climb Advisors weekly newsletter with five deals from across the B2B tech landscape.
Climb Advisors focuses on sell-side advisory for B2B Software and services companies generating $5m-$15m in revenue. We also advise on credit solutions for companies of the same profile & in select cases engage in retained buy-side processes for quality buyers. We love to talk markets and make introductions - please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re a founder or investor looking to transact.
Goldman Sachs Alternatives acquires a majority stake in NAVEX
Overview: Goldman Sachs Alternatives acquires a majority stake in NAVEX, a risk and compliance software company. NAVEX provides ethics, risk, and ESG software to over 13,000 global customers. Blackstone’s private equity strategy for individual investors will also be an investor in the company. NAVEX was previously backed by BC Partners and Vista Equity. Read more here.
Climb Comment: NAVEX has been a major player in the governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) space and has benefited from ESG regulatory tailwinds. The GRC software sector has been rapidly consolidating, and compliance technology has been an attractive investment space because it is mission critical for many firms. Vista originally acquired NAVEX in 2014, reportedly for ~$1 billion, and BC Partners invested in 2018. The company now generates ~$150 million in EBITDA, and while not official, Goldman is rumored to have paid around 18x forward EBITDA.
Darktrace, backed by Thoma Bravo, acquires Mira Security
Overview: Darktrace, a UK-based cybersecurity AI company backed by Thoma Bravo, acquires Mira Security, a provider of network traffic visibility tools. Mira helps enterprises detect threats in encrypted data without compromising privacy. Mira Security’s engineering team will be joining Darktrace’s R&D division and the newly integrated solutions will provide organizations with increased visibility across cloud and hybrid environments. Read more here.
Climb Comment: This deal by Darktrace follows the recent acquisition of Cado Security and the launch of new AI models in April. As encryption becomes more common, organizations are struggling with visibility into encrypted traffic, making Mira’s solutions particularly valuable. Mira’s technology and talent allows Darktrace to enhance its threat detection capabilities. This is especially important for heavily regulated sectors like healthcare and finance. Cyber and cloud security has been a hot space recently, with tons of money being poured into the sector.
Blackstone acquires a majority stake in NetBrain Technologies
Overview: Blackstone acquires a majority stake in NetBrain Technologies, a network automation platform that focuses on hybrid cloud environments. NetBrain helps large enterprises automate network operations and reduce downtime. The investment from Blackstone’s growth vehicle, BXG, values NetBrain Technologies at an enterprise value of ~$750 million. Read more here.
Climb Comment: NetBrain serves hundreds of Fortune 500 clients and helps manage over 10,000 enterprise networks. The company’s platform is designed to eliminate manual network troubleshooting through automation and real-time analytics. As IT environments become more complex, solutions like NetBrain’s become increasingly critical. Blackstone recognizes this and has made several enterprise IT investments recently. This deal aligns with Blackstone’s push into infrastructure automation and software.
Roper Technologies acquires Subsplash, a developer of AI tools for churches
Overview: Roper Technologies purchases Subsplash, a software platform that provides AI-powered tools for churches and ministries. Subsplash offers media hosting, donation processing, and congregation engagement tools for over 16,000 churches. Subsplash has brought over 30 offerings to the church market and its mission is to provide every church with best-in-class software. Read more here.
Climb Comment: Subsplash has grown rapidly over the past few years, largely driven by digitalization in religious organizations. The company recently launched AI-powered tools that help churches repurpose sermons into social posts. Roper has completed nearly 40 acquisitions and is known for acquiring niche vertical software companies with strong recurring revenue. This model has worked out well for Roper as the company’s stock price has performed excellently over the years. Roper expects this deal to be immediately accretive to earnings.
ActiveOps acquires Enlighten, a workforce optimization software provider
Overview: ActiveOps, a UK-based provider of AI-driven data intelligence solutions, acquires Enlighten, an Australia-based performance management software company. Enlighten helps back-office teams measure productivity and identify operational inefficiencies. This acquisition strengthens ActiveOps footprint in the North American and Asian Pacific markets. Read more here.
Climb Comment: This deal looks to be a great strategic fit combining operating software with data driven AI intelligence. The workforce optimization software space has seen a lot of attention over recent years because of the rise of hybrid and remote work and how critical AI is becoming to the space. Enlighten brings advanced analytics capabilities and client relationships in Australia and the U.S., expanding ActiveOps geographic footprint. The combined platform will serve major banks, insurers, and business process outsourcing firms.
Article of the week
The article of the week this week is another interview, this time with Seth Klarman, the author of the book “Margin of Safety.” This was a great interview on value investing and also his approach to running his firm.
Thanks for following along & hope you found something useful or interesting. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re considering a sale this year - we’re always glad to chat & share perspective.
All the best,
Nick