Private Equity Firms To Spin Out Password Manager LastPass

Elliott Management's private equity arm and Francesco Partners will spin out the popular password manager LastPass after taking its owner Boston-based software group LogMeIn private for $4.3 billion. From a report: LastPass faced a backlash from its users in March after the free version of the service, which generates, and securely stores long, complex passwords, was hobbled to only work on either a smartphone, or a computer. Millions of users of LastPass' free service were effectively forced to pay up to $36 a year in order to continue using the password tool on more than one device. LogMeIn CEO Bill Wagner says the plan to spinout LastPass wasn't connected with the backlash over the paywall, and 75% of revenues for the password manager now came from corporate clients. "It's all about unlocking the value of this company," says Wagner. "We are balancing investments across different products and by splitting it out this brings real focus, a dedicated management team and added investment and I think this will be a very valuable company in the years to come."

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