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Cornerstone OnDemand Agrees to Sell to Clearlake Capital Group for $5.2 Billion

San Francisco – August 5, 2021 – Cooley advised Cornerstone OnDemand, a publicly traded global leader in talent management software, on its agreement to sell to private equity firm Clearlake Capital Group. Lawyers Jamie Leigh, Ben Beerle, Rachel Proffitt and Matt Silverman led the Cooley team advising Cornerstone on the transaction, which has an enterprise value of approximately $5.2 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, Clearlake will acquire the outstanding shares of Cornerstone common stock. Upon completion, Cornerstone will become a private company with the flexibility and resources to continue providing market-leading talent management SaaS solutions. Additionally, the transaction will provide Cornerstone with Clearlake’s operating capabilities, capital support and deep sector expertise, as well as its strong track record with software platform investments. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2021.

“Clearlake’s investment reflects their confidence in our talented people, the power of our SaaS solutions and our value proposition for our customers,” Phil Saunders, CEO of Cornerstone, said in a news release. “With this transaction, we plan to continue to pursue new software capabilities that advance our customers’ efforts to optimize workforce agility, transform skill development, deliver personalized, engaging growth experiences, and align their organizations around a shared definition of success. We’re thrilled to welcome Clearlake as a partner that appreciates the impact our SaaS solutions have on the lives of people at work and our customer-centric philosophy as we accelerate our innovation.”

Cornerstone powers the future-ready workforce, with HR software and solutions designed to unite people, teams, technology and business, and inspire a work environment of growth, agility and success for all. The company serves more than 6,000 customers and 75 million users in 180 countries and 50 languages.

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Related Contacts
Jamie Leigh  Partner San Francisco
Ben Beerle  Partner San Francisco
Rachel Proffitt  Partner San Francisco
Matthew D. Silverman  Special Counsel Los Angeles – Santa Monica
Natalie D. Vernon  Associate Colorado
Jacob B. Hanna  Associate San Francisco
Julia Gage  Associate San Francisco
Scott Lin  Associate San Francisco
Kevin Rivers  Associate Palo Alto
Zachary Sonenshine  Associate New York
Tracy Rubin  Partner Palo Alto
Matt Kong  Associate San Francisco
Rowook Park  Partner San Diego
Barbara Mirza  Partner Los Angeles – Santa Monica, Los Angeles – Downtown
Mischi a Marca  Partner San Francisco
Nicollette R. Kirby  Associate Washington, DC
Megan Browdie  Partner Washington, DC
Howard Morse  Partner Washington, DC
Sarah Lightdale  Partner New York
Kristopher Kleiner  Special Counsel Colorado
Anthony Hajj  Associate New York
Kristin R. Marshall  Associate Washington, DC
Ross Eberly  Partner Los Angeles – Santa Monica, Los Angeles – Downtown
David Silverman  Partner New York
Todd Gluth  Partner San Diego
Megan Drill  Associate San Diego
Rachel F. Katz  Associate New York
Eileen Leman  Associate Los Angeles – Downtown, Los Angeles – Santa Monica
Stella Sarma  Special Counsel Brussels, London
Christine Graham  Special Counsel London, Brussels
Kevin King  Partner Washington, DC
Christopher Kimball  Partner Washington, DC
Alexander Israel  Partner Brussels, London
Jason Savich  Partner San Francisco
Allison Kutner  Associate New York
David Navetta  Partner Colorado