Newfold Digital, a web technology provider backed by Clearlake Capital Group LP and Siris Capital Group LLC, has acquired Yoast, a search engine optimization plugin provider for WordPress.

“SEO is a growing need in our customer base and essential to online success, especially as we see more businesses expand their online presence,” said Sharon Rowlands, president and CEO of Newfold Digital. “Yoast is a well-known and respected brand in the WordPress community. We are excited to welcome them to the Newfold family and to help improve SEO and drive visitors to our growing customer base.” 

“We’re excited to join Newfold Digital to continue our mission of SEO for everyone by leveraging the leading global portfolio of web presence brands,” said Marieke van de Rakt, CEO of Yoast. “We are confident that the strength and leadership Newfold Digital provides will help to ensure Yoast remains the most used SEO plugin for WordPress for many years to come and will fuel future innovation.”

“We are delighted to welcome Yoast to the Newfold Digital family,” said James Pade, partner, Clearlake, and Tyler Sipprelle, managing director at Siris. “We want Newfold Digital to be the partner of choice for online presence companies that want to work with an established leader in the space as they seek their next stage of growth.”

RBC Capital Markets served as financial advisor and Morrison & Foerster LLP acted as legal counsel to Yoast. Raymond James served as financial advisor and Sidley Austin LLP acted as legal counsel to Newfold Digital.