Thoma Bravo agrees on $ 12.3 billion deal for Proofpoint cybersecurity team

Thoma Bravo has agreed to take on private cybersecurity company Proofpoint in a $ 12.3 billion deal as the technology-based private equity firm continues to push for bigger deals.

The U.S. acquisition group will acquire the California company with a 34 percent premium to its trading price starting Friday, paying Proofpoint shareholders $ 176 a share. The company’s share price rose more than 30 percent at the start of trading in New York.

The deal would be the largest purchase of privately backed software, according to Refinitiv data $ 11 billion deal A team led by Hellman & Friedman in 2019 to buy the human resources software company Ultimate Software.

It seems that some companies have been forced to increase their cyber protection by corporate rescue hacks – when cybercriminals demand data encryption and a fee to freeze them – it rose during the pandemic.

The board of directors of Proofpoint has approved the agreement, including a deadline called the go shop, which expires on June 9th. This means that the company has 45 days to consider proposals from other parties.

Thoma Bravo has previously made investments in SolarWinds, a software company that is in the midst of a huge cyberespionage campaign found in December. U.S. security officials said Russia it is likely to be behind the espionage attempt that hijacked SolarWinds ’software and put its government and business customers at risk.

According to the data presented, Thoma Bravo and rivals of private equipment Silver Lake owned about 75 percent of SolarWinds at the end of September. They it sold a $ 315 million stake in the company To the Investment Commission of Public Pension Plans of Canada, one of the long-time sponsors, before the US issued a warning about the hack last year.

Chicago’s Thoma Bravo, which specializes in technology deals, has been buying larger software companies in recent months.

In December 2020, it reached its largest technology-sponsored agreement with private equity, acquiring a US RealPage software team $ 10.2 million purchase. He accepted buy Calypso, a trading software group with a valuation of $ 3.75 million in March, 37 times more than the $ 100 million generated by the company’s earnings before December 2020 on interest, taxes, amortization and amortization.

Cybersecurity has become a top priority for large companies over the past year, especially in the financial services industry, as remote work in the coronavirus pandemic has reduced cyber defenses.

The rapid growth of connected devices, such as smart watches, printers and industrial equipment, has proliferated new cyber threats that could jeopardize corporate IT infrastructure. according to various research.

According to Refinitiv, technology agreements accounted for 28% of all private capital agreements in terms of value in 2020, as the pandemic boosted demand from companies less affected by the closures.

Proofpoint also announced earnings in the first quarter on Monday, with losses of $ 45.3 million in the first three months of the year. The company had revenue of nearly $ 290 million, up 15% from the same period last year.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2021.