Positions Command Alkon for Continued Growth and Innovation as it Celebrates 50 Years of Industry Leadership

HILLIARD, Ohio and LONDON and SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Command Alkon, the trusted technology partner powering the heavy building materials industry, today announced that Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Command Alkon from Thoma Bravo, the world’s largest software-focused investment firm. Heidelberg Materials, one of the world's largest integrated manufacturers of heavy building materials and solutions, will retain its significant minority stake in Command Alkon.

Command Alkon is a global leader in software and platform technology for the heavy building materials industry. More than 14,000 plants in over 80 countries rely on Command Alkon's technology to digitize plant operations, optimize logistics, and capture real-time visibility across the construction ecosystem. Its Command Cloud technology platform helps customers connect the critical operations that power their business through secure, integrated workflows that improve visibility, increase efficiency, and strengthen decision making. Command Cloud provides a flexible platform for future innovation including edge computing, AI-assisted workflows, and industry tailored insights. The platform serves customers across all heavy building materials markets, including production automation, dispatch, fleet intelligence, connected field technologies, and AI-powered decision support.

The investment from Francisco Partners, and the continued partnership of Heidelberg Materials, reflect confidence in Command Alkon's long-term strategy, deep industry expertise, and leadership in delivering the operational platform that helps heavy building materials companies modernize and connect their operations. Command Alkon will be able to further expand its agentic AI-driven and autonomous plant operation capabilities, continue its global scaling, and further develop its payment offerings. As Command Alkon celebrates its 50th anniversary, this investment will help it continue executing on its long-standing commitment to helping customers improve performance through technology purpose-built for the heavy building materials industry.

"We're incredibly proud of the innovation we've delivered and the trust our customers have placed in us over five decades, and this partnership strengthens our ability to innovate with speed, invest strategically, and continue advancing the mission-critical technology our customers rely on every day,” said Martin Willoughby, CEO of Command Alkon. “Our mission remains unchanged: we exist to help our customers succeed. Together with Heidelberg Materials and Thoma Bravo, we've spent the past six years accelerating our innovation and transformation – successfully initiating the industry’s transition to the cloud, expanding our AI capabilities, and delivering exceptional growth. We're excited to continue building on that foundation with Francisco Partners, who share our long-term vision for helping heavy building materials companies optimize their businesses. We're equally pleased that Heidelberg Materials will continue as a minority investor, bringing valuable industry perspective as we continue serving customers across every market we support.”

“Command Alkon has built a technology platform that powers mission-critical operations across one of the world's most essential industries,” said Petri Oksanen and Quentin Lathuille, Partners at Francisco Partners. “Infrastructure investment is accelerating across major markets, and artificial intelligence is significantly enhancing the value Command Alkon can bring to its customers. Its platform is exceptionally well-positioned to deliver on these opportunities, and we see strong potential to further scale its agentic AI and autonomous plant capabilities. We look forward to partnering with the Command Alkon team and Heidelberg Materials to execute on this next phase for the business as they continue helping their customers modernize, grow, and succeed.”

Under Thoma Bravo's majority ownership, Command Alkon undertook a comprehensive digital transformation that delivered accelerated growth and significantly advanced the platform. Command Alkon initiated a transition to the cloud through Command Cloud, launched AI-enabled capabilities including Batch AI and the Command Intelligence agentic platform, and expanded its platform through strategic acquisitions.

“Thoma Bravo contributed our demonstrated software operating model and Heidelberg Materials brought deep industry knowledge, strategic vision, and a front-row seat to the customer. Martin and his team combined that to modernize the entire company and product suite and transform the industry,” said A.J. Rohde, a Senior Partner at Thoma Bravo. “This partnership has been a massive success, proving what's possible when private equity and industrial owners partner together to drive innovation. We are enormously proud of what we've built with Command Alkon and look forward to seeing their continued success,” added George Jaber, a Principal at Thoma Bravo.

“Command Alkon has successfully driven the digital transformation of our industry and is now focused on unlocking the full potential of AI and autonomous operations for its customers," said Dennis Lentz, Chief Digital Officer and Member of the Managing Board at Heidelberg Materials. “After a successful period of growth alongside Thoma Bravo, we are excited to partner with Francisco Partners on the next leg of the journey. We look forward to combining our deep domain knowledge with their technology expertise to accelerate Command Alkon's capabilities and create lasting value across our industry.”

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026 and is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Deutsche Bank Securities is serving as financial advisor and Paul Hastings LLP is serving as legal advisor to Francisco Partners. Evercore is serving as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to Thoma Bravo and Command Alkon. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as legal advisor to Heidelberg Materials.

About Command Alkon

Command Alkon is the global leader in software and platform technology for the heavy building materials industry. Through Command Cloud, the company connects raw materials, production, dispatch, logistics, and financials in a single platform purpose-built for ready mix, asphalt, and aggregate producers. With 50 years of industry expertise and a presence in more than 80 countries, Command Alkon powers mission-critical operations for thousands of producers worldwide, delivering real-time visibility, operational precision, and data-driven insights across the entire materials value chain.

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch over 25 years ago, Francisco Partners has invested in over 500 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. With over $75 billion in capital raised to date, the firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

About Thoma Bravo

Thoma Bravo is the world’s largest software-focused investment firm, with more than $172 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2026. Partnering with some of the world’s most sophisticated investors, Thoma Bravo’s private equity and private credit platforms reflect a focused investment strategy, supported by disciplined execution, deep sector expertise and leadership continuity. Over the past 20-plus years, Thoma Bravo has acquired or invested in approximately 590 software and technology companies, representing approximately $320 billion of aggregate enterprise value (including control and non-control investments, as well as add-on acquisitions). Learn more at thomabravo.com and on LinkedIn.

About Heidelberg Materials

Heidelberg Materials is one of the world's largest integrated manufacturers of heavy building materials and solutions with leading market positions in cement, aggregates, and ready-mixed concrete. Around 49,000 employees in almost 50 countries shape our growth path. Drawing on our global advantage, we create synergies in the areas of sustainability, digitalization, and technical excellence. As the industry’s front runner on the path to Net Zero, we enable our customers to lead the way towards a more sustainable future through our growing offering of low-carbon and circular building materials.

Contacts

For Command Alkon
Karli Langner
+1 205-879-3282 x 3968
klangner@commandalkon.com

For Francisco Partners
Prosek Partners
Pro-FP@prosek.com

For Thoma Bravo
Abby Farr
+1 646-957-2067
afarr@thomabravo.com

FGS Global
Akash Lodh
+1 202-758-4263
ThomaBravo-US@fgsglobal.com

For Heidelberg Materials
Christoph Beumelburg
+49 6221 48113-249
info@heidelbergmaterials.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c50ef3d1-372a-4d35-9ba3-5c957e2fa524

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