<SEC-DOCUMENT>0001048695-25-000024.txt : 20250310
<SEC-HEADER>0001048695-25-000024.hdr.sgml : 20250310
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20250205212711
<PRIVATE-TO-PUBLIC>
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0001048695-25-000024
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	CORRESP
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		2
FILED AS OF DATE:		20250205

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			F5, INC.
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0001048695
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT [3576]
		ORGANIZATION NAME:           	06 Technology
		IRS NUMBER:				911714307
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			WA
		FISCAL YEAR END:			0930

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		CORRESP

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		801 5TH AVENUE
		CITY:			SEATTLE
		STATE:			WA
		ZIP:			98104
		BUSINESS PHONE:		2062725555

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		801 5TH AVENUE
		CITY:			SEATTLE
		STATE:			WA
		ZIP:			98104

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	F5 NETWORKS, INC.
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	20190625

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	F5 NETWORKS INC
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19990308

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	F5 LABS INC
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19990305
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>CORRESP
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>filename1.htm
<TEXT>
<html><head>
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<title>Document</title></head><body><div id="iac69089f8bf24a71be354db741e97c5c_1"></div><div style="min-height:106.92pt;width:100%"><div style="text-align:center"><font><br></font></div><div><img alt="picture1a.jpg" src="picture1a.jpg" style="height:44px;margin-bottom:5pt;vertical-align:text-bottom;width:44px"><table style="border-collapse:collapse;display:inline-table;margin-bottom:5pt;vertical-align:text-bottom;width:86.287%"><tr><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:39.080%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:17.638%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:23.584%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:15.298%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:right;vertical-align:top"><font style="font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%"><br></font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">801 FIFTH AVE</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:right;vertical-align:top"><font style="font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%"><br></font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">SEATTLE, WA 98104</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:right;vertical-align:top"><font style="font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%"><br></font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">206.272.5555</font></td></tr></table></div></div><div style="margin-top:2.2pt"><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">February 5, 2025</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">VIA EDGAR</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Ms. Brittany Ebbertt</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Ms. Christine Dietz</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Division of Corporation Finance</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Office of Technology<br>U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission<br>100 F Street, N.E. <br>Washington, DC  20549</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><table style="border-collapse:collapse;display:inline-table;margin-bottom:5pt;vertical-align:text-bottom;width:387.75pt"><tr><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:28.00pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:28.00pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:325.75pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Re&#58;      </font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">F5, Inc.</font></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2024</font></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Form 8-K Furnished on January 28, 2025</font></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">File No. 000-26041</font></td></tr></table></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Dear Ms. Ebbertt and Ms. Dietz&#58; </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:36pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">F5, Inc. (the &#8220;Company&#8221;, &#8220;we&#8221; or &#8220;our&#8221;) acknowledges receipt of the comment letter of the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the &#8220;Staff&#8221;) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the &#8220;Commission&#8221;) dated January 30, 2025 (the &#8220;Comment Letter&#8221;) relating to our Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2024 and Form 8-K furnished on January 28, 2025. We submit this letter in response to the Comment Letter received from the Staff.  </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:36pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">For your convenience, we have set forth each of the Staff&#8217;s original comments in bold and italicized typeface to which we respond below.</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2024</font></div><div style="padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">Consolidated Income Statements, page 49</font></div><div style="padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">1.</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:700;line-height:120%;padding-left:9pt">We note subscription revenue, which includes revenue from SaaS and managed services and term-based license subscriptions, was approximately 22.1% of total revenue for the year ended September 30, 2024. Accordingly, and if material, revise to separately present revenue from services, such as SaaS and managed services, from product revenue on the face of your income statement. Relatedly, revise to also separately present cost of revenue related to these sources. Refer to Rule 5-03(b)(1) and (2) of Regulation S-X. As part of your response, please quantify the revenues from SaaS and managed services separately for each period presented.</font></div><div style="margin-top:12pt;padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Response&#58;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%"> We respectfully acknowledge the Staff&#8217;s comment and reference to Rule 5-03(b)(1) and (2) of Regulation S-X with respect to our reporting of revenues for our software-as-a-service </font></div><div style="height:64.8pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div></div><hr style="page-break-after:always"><div style="min-height:106.92pt;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Division of Corporation Finance</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Office of Technology</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">February 5, 2025</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Page 2</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font><br></font></div></div><div style="margin-top:12pt;padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">(&#8220;SaaS&#8221;) and managed services subscription offerings. For clarification, the Company&#8217;s SaaS and managed services subscription offerings provide access to a suite of the Company&#8217;s application security, networking and delivery products through the convenience of a hosted deployment model over a ratable subscription term. Although our SaaS and managed services solutions are delivered via a different deployment method than our traditional systems line of business, the core technologies and benefits are similar. The underlying product offerings found within our SaaS and managed services offerings include both software and service elements that are inseparable from one another. Accordingly, we view our SaaS and managed services subscription offerings as indistinguishable from our other product offerings, regardless of delivery mechanism and consumption model</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:7.8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;position:relative;top:-4.2pt;vertical-align:baseline">1</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">. </font></div><div style="padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Net revenues from our SaaS and managed services product offerings are not greater than the threshold established under Rule 5-03(b). Below, the Company has provided the net revenues and percentage of total net revenues from its SaaS and managed services offerings, which are as follows&#58;</font></div><div style="padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:20.65pt"><table style="border-collapse:collapse;display:inline-table;margin-bottom:5pt;vertical-align:text-bottom;width:442.50pt"><tr><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:262.75pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:57.25pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:57.25pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:57.25pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="9" style="padding:2px 2.38pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Years Ended September 30,</font></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="border-top:0.5pt solid #000000;padding:2px 2.38pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">2024</font></td><td colspan="3" style="border-top:0.5pt solid #000000;padding:2px 2.38pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">2023</font></td><td colspan="3" style="border-top:0.5pt solid #000000;padding:2px 2.38pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">2022</font></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt 2px 3.77pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Net revenues from SaaS and managed services </font></td><td colspan="3" style="border-top:0.5pt solid #000000;padding:2px 2.38pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">$193,201</font></td><td colspan="3" style="border-top:0.5pt solid #000000;padding:2px 2.38pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">$203,327</font></td><td colspan="3" style="border-top:0.5pt solid #000000;padding:2px 2.38pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">$199,250</font></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt 2px 3.77pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Total net revenues</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 2.38pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">2,816,120</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 2.38pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">2,813,170</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 2.38pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">2,695,829</font></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt 2px 3.77pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">As a percentage of total net revenues</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 2.38pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">6.8%</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 2.38pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">7.2%</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 2.38pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">7.4%</font></td></tr><tr style="height:12pt"><td colspan="12" style="padding:2px 1pt 2px 3.77pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Amounts in thousands, except percentages</font></td></tr></table></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">The Company respectfully advises the Staff that it has considered Rule 5-03(b) of Regulation S-X regarding its presentation of both revenues and the related costs and expenses, including separately for each item outlined in the subcaptions of Rule 5-03(b)(1) and (2). There is limited guidance on interpreting the requirements of Rule 5-03(b) in this context and the terms &#8220;revenue from services&#8221; and &#8220;tangible products&#8221; are not specifically defined, and the Company believes there is diversity in practice in presenting revenues and cost of revenues for SaaS and managed services.</font></div><div style="padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">The Company&#8217;s annual disaggregated revenue disclosures found in its 2024 Form 10-K filing within footnote 2 &#8211; Revenue from Contracts with Customers, along with the additional information found within Item 7 </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Management&#8217;s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%"> on pages 37-39, provide supplementary information about the Company&#8217;s net revenues generated from its various offerings. The Company believes that the current presentation, when read in conjunction with the information in footnote 2, best reflects the economic substance of its business and, accordingly, provides investors with the most useful information about these revenue streams of the business. In acknowledgement of the Staff&#8217;s comment, we will continue to monitor the magnitude of net revenues from our SaaS and managed services offerings and consider whether such revenues warrant a change in presentation. </font></div><div style="padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="border-bottom:0.54pt solid #000000;margin-bottom:5pt;margin-top:10pt;opacity:1;width:144pt"></div><div style="margin-bottom:3pt;text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:6.5pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;position:relative;top:-3.5pt;vertical-align:baseline">1</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">For context, the Company&#8217;s net services revenues are comprised of sales of the Company&#8217;s post-contract customer support (&#8220;PCS&#8221;), consulting, trainings, warranty and RMA service contracts, which are pure service solutions.  </font></div><div style="height:64.8pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div></div><hr style="page-break-after:always"><div style="min-height:106.92pt;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Division of Corporation Finance</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Office of Technology</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">February 5, 2025</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Page 3</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font><br></font></div></div><div style="padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">Form 8-K Furnished on January 28, 2025</font></div><div style="padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">Non-GAAP Measures</font></div><div style="padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">2.</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:700;line-height:120%;padding-left:9pt">Please revise to provide a reconciliation of your non-GAAP measures gross profit, gross margin, operating profit and operating margin to their respective GAAP measures. Refer to Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Regulation S-K.</font></div><div style="margin-top:12pt;padding-right:-1pt;text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Response&#58;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">  We respectfully acknowledge the Staff&#8217;s comment and reference to Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Regulation S-K and will, in applicable future filings, provide a reconciliation of gross profit, gross margin, operating profit and operating margin to their respective GAAP measures.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">* * * *</font></div><div style="margin-bottom:12pt;margin-top:6pt;text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;If we can facilitate the Staff&#8217;s review, or if the Staff has any questions on any of the information set forth herein, please telephone me at 206-272-6519.  Thank you again for your time and consideration.</font></div><div style="text-align:right"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</font><table style="border-collapse:collapse;display:inline-table;margin-bottom:5pt;vertical-align:text-bottom;width:453.00pt"><tr><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:225.25pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:30.25pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:153.25pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td><td style="width:36.25pt"></td><td style="width:1.0pt"></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="6" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Respectfully submitted,</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">By&#58;</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">&#47;s&#47; EDWARD C. WERNER</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Edward C. Werner</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Chief Financial Officer</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr></table></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:216pt;padding-right:9.35pt"><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:18pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:18pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">cc&#58;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Scot Rogers, Executive Vice President and General Counsel (F5, Inc.)</font></div><div style="padding-left:18pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</font></div><div style="padding-left:18pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</font></div><div style="height:64.8pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div></div></body></html>
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