[April 10, 2012]

Network Instruments Enters into Agreement with Thoma Bravo

Network Instruments (News - Alert), LLC, a leading provider of network and application performance management solutions, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell a controlling interest to Thoma Bravo, LLC, a leading private equity investment firm. The transaction will provide investment capital and strategic support to expand Network Instruments' market share and further deliver best-of-breed IT solutions to the marketplace.

"We are excited to partner with Thoma Bravo to further grow the Network Instruments brand," said Douglas Smith, president and co-founder of Network Instruments. "Our company has had great success bringing critical, high-performing IT solutions to the world's largest organizations thanks to the tremendous talent and experience of our employees. Thoma Bravo will bring their proven insight to build on our record of double-digit growth, high quality products, and strong customer base. We look forward to our next phase of expansion with them."

Since 1994, Network Instruments has supplied IT teams with high-quality software and hardware platforms to accurately report network and application behavior, resolve IT problems, and optimize performance. Most recently, the company announced 21 percent revenue growth in 2011 over 2010.

"Network Instruments is a market-leading franchise with a tremendous growth opportunity due to its industry-leading technology, global customer base, and an experienced management team," said Seth Boro, a partner at Thoma Bravo. "We look forward to working with Network Instruments to continue growing the business through both market and product expansion."

The company is well-known for its line of GigaStor^{TM/sup> retrospective network analysis appliances and its Observer® platform for performance management. IT teams around the world depend on these solutions to manage the performance of critical network and application traffic as well as gain the necessary visibility to solve problems quickly.}

"Network Instruments has a long demonstrated track record in a growing industry," said Thoma Bravo principal Robert Sayle. "As large corporations continue to seek sophisticated network management solutions, they will rely on innovative strategic providers. We're confident Network Instruments can continue its market leadership, and our investment and guidance will position them for further growth opportunities."

The transaction is expected to close in April 2012. Terms were not disclosed. Network Instruments will continue to operate as an independent entity with the existing management team continuing in their current roles. Headquarters will remain in Minnetonka, MN with offices in Canada, England, France, and Germany. For more information about Network Instruments, visit www.networkinstruments.com.

About Network Instruments, LLC

Established in 1994, Network Instruments is an industry leader in application and network management. It provides products that optimize performance and speed problem resolution, helping ensure delivery of critical applications for businesses worldwide. Network Instruments delivers these benefits through a seamlessly integrated line of software and hardware systems that are precision engineered for exact network monitoring and analysis. For more information, visit www.networkinstruments.com.

About Thoma Bravo, LLC

Thoma Bravo is a leading private equity investment firm building on a 30+ year history of providing equity and strategic support to experienced management teams building growing companies. The firm has continued to apply the concept of industry consolidation investing, which seeks to create value through the strategic use of acquisitions to accelerate business growth. Thoma Bravo invests across multiple industries, with a particular focus in enterprise and infrastructure software and financial and business services, and works in partnership with management to implement its operating and consolidation expertise to build long-term value. The firm currently manages a series of private equity funds representing almost $4 billion of equity commitments. In software, Thoma Bravo has completed 47 add-on acquisitions across 21 platform companies with total annual earnings of approximately $1 billion. For more information, visit www.thomabravo.com.

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