Why Okta Is Buying Auth0 For $6.5 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Mar 4, 2021
  • Leading independent identity provider Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA) recently announced it entered into a definitive agreement to buy Auth0 for $6.5 billion. These are the details about the deal.

Leading independent identity provider Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA) recently announced it entered into a definitive agreement to buy Auth0 — which is an identity platform for application teams. This deal was in the form of a stock transaction valued at about $6.5 billion.

Why did Okta decide to buy Auth0. Both Okta and Auth0 address a broad set of identity use cases and the acquisition is expected to accelerate the companies’ shared vision of enabling everyone to safely use any technology, shaping the future of identity on the internet. And the deal will accelerate Okta’s growth in the $55 billion identity market. 

Auth0 is going to operate as an independent business unit inside of Okta and both platforms will be supported, invested in, and integrated over time. As a result, the organizations will have greater choice in selecting the identity solution for their unique needs. Okta and Auth0’s comprehensive and complementary identity platforms are robust enough to serve the world’s largest organizations and flexible enough to address every identity use case, regardless of the audience or user.

Due to global market tailwinds of cloud and hybrid IT, digital transformation, and zero-trust security, an identity platform has become one of the most important technology investments an organization will make. And these trends have accelerated over the past year as companies of all sizes and across every industry had to quickly pivot to deliver engaging customer experiences online. 

Organizations everywhere have been rapidly leveraging identity to streamline processes, reduce costs, maintain the highest levels of security, and improve customer experiences to drive business growth. And Okta and Auth0 are both committed to delivering innovation and value to organizations navigating those transformations.

Deal Details:

Okta is going to acquire Auth0 for approximately $6.5 billion in Okta Class A common stock (subject to customary purchase price adjustments and certain customary cash payouts in lieu of stock) based on a fixed number of Okta shares and an Okta share price of $276.21. And the boards of directors of Okta and Auth0 have each approved the transaction. The proposed deal is subject to receipt of required regulatory approvals and satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions and is expected to close during Okta’s second quarter of fiscal year 2022, the quarter ending July 31, 2021.

KEY QUOTES:

“Combining Auth0’s developer-centric identity solution with the Okta Identity Cloud will drive tremendous value for both current and future customers. In an increasingly digital world, identity is the unifying means by which we use technology — both at work and in our personal lives. With so much at stake for businesses today, it’s critical that we deliver trusted customer-facing identity solutions. Okta’s and Auth0’s shared vision for the identity market, rooted in customer success, will accelerate our innovation, opening up new ways for our customers to leverage identity to meet their business needs. We are thrilled to join forces with the Auth0 team, as they are ideal allies in building identity for the internet and establishing identity as a primary cloud.”

— Todd McKinnon, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, Okta

“Okta and Auth0 have an incredible opportunity to build the identity platform of the future. We founded Auth0 to enable product builders to innovate with a secure, easy-to-use, and extensible customer identity platform. Together, we can offer our customers workforce and customer identity solutions with exceptional speed, simplicity, security, reliability and scalability. By joining forces, we will accelerate our customers’ innovation and ability to meet the needs and demands of consumers, businesses and employees everywhere.”

— Eugenio Pace, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, Auth0