Online ordering provider Olo has reached an agreement with the investment firm Thoma Bravo to take the company private at a valuation of $2 billion, the companies said on Thursday.
Olo shareholders will receive $10.25 per share in cash, a 65% premium on the company’s share price as of April 30, before media reports suggested the company was for sale. It is also about 13% higher than the close of trading on Wednesday.
The sale comes just four years after Olo went public, and ends a difficult period on the public markets. The company’s stock price has fallen by more than 72% since that IPO, even after a recent uptick brought on by the sale reports.
Still, it takes private one of the industry’s most widely used tech companies and one of its earliest innovators, helping numerous restaurant chains take their businesses online.
Olo was founded in 2005 and works with some 750 restaurant brands. Its core product is online ordering, but it has expanded into marketing and customer engagement as well as payment processing.
The sale, which is expected to close by the end of the year, puts Olo into the hands of Thoma Bravo, a massive, software-focused investor with about $184 billion in assets under management.
“By partnering with Thoma Bravo, we believe we can build on our success to date and accelerate our vision by helping our customers create a world where every restaurant guest feels like a regular,” Olo founder and CEO Noah Glass said in a statement.
Hudson Smith, a partner with Thoma Bravo, cited Olo’s “incredible platform and deep customer relationships” and called it “an ideal investment for us.”
“We see tremendous potential ahead and are incredibly excited to work with Noah and his team on strategic and operational initiatives to help Olo accelerate growth and strengthen their position as an essential partner to restaurants everywhere,” Peter Hernandez, SVP at Thoma Bravo, said in a statement.
Thoma Bravo's current portfolio includes more than 75 companies, none of which appeared to be restaurant tech-focused.
Goldman Sachs is the financial advisor for Olo and Goodwin Procter is legal counsel. Kirkland & Ellis is legal counsel to Thoma Bravo.
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