Darktrace confirms takeover proposal by US private equity firm Thoma Bravo
With $114 billion in assets, Chicago-based Thoma Bravo is one of the world's most active investors in cybersecurity firms
Cambridge-based cybersecurity firm Darktrace confirmed on Monday that it was in preliminary talks with the US private equity firm Thoma Bravo about a potential takeover for a cash offer.
Thoma Bravo has until September 12 to express a definite intention to make an offer or walk away, according to Darktrace, which has a market value of roughly £2.67 billion.
"As a consequence of this announcement, an 'offer period' has commenced," Darktrace added.
The company said it had received a number of preliminary and conditional proposals, although there is no guarantee that any offer will be made.
Investment banks Jefferies and Lazard are advising Darktrace, the company said.
Darktrace was founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who is defending himself against fraud allegations at a separate business and no longer involved in running Darktrace.
Darktrace offers cybersecurity services based on artificial intelligence and claims that its solutions enable faster detection and response than conventional enterprise cybersecurity products, which depend relatively more on human input.
The firm states that it is "a pioneer of autonomous response technology," which helps clients neutralise cyber threats across diverse digital estates, including the cloud and networks, Internet of Things (IoT) and industrial control systems.
However, Darktrace has had a difficult time since going public on the London stock exchange in April 2021.
The business's shares reached a record high of 985p in late September 2021, although they started to fall by the end of October, after a sell note by corporate broker Peel Hunt said that the company was only worth half its value.
Stocks plummeted further following a big investor's cheap sale of a part of their investment.
This year, Darktrace has reaped the benefits of a spike in demand for cybersecurity services brought on by the war in Ukraine and rising cyber threats.
It has raised its forecast on a few occasions over the last few months, and in July, it reported that it had continued to acquire new subscribers at a good rate in the previous quarter.
Darktrace has been successful in landing several large corporations as customers, including the supercar manufacturer McLaren and the brewing business AB InBev.
With $114 billion in assets, Chicago-based Thoma Bravo is one of the world's most active investors in cybersecurity firms, with a specialised team of dealmakers focusing on the industry.
The company announced the purchase of US-based Ping Identity, a supplier of identity management solutions, for $2.8 billion earlier this month. In April, it paid $12.3 billion for cybersecurity company Proofpoint, and in 2020 it acquired UK-based security vendor Sophos.
Thomas Bravo is also investing in other tech segments, including the $10.7 billion acquisition of business planning software provider Anaplan announced in March.
In December, it spent $2.6 billion to acquire the banking and payments specialist Bottomline Technologies.