August 2022 saw another raft of announcements related to merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in the booming cybersecurity industry. This is in keeping with market trends observed over the past 18 months. Here is Infosecurity Magazine’s roundup of a number of M&A news that emerged in August.
Netskope Acquires Infiot
August kicked off with security service edge (SSE) and zero trust provider Netskope expanding its portfolio with the purchase of secure access vendor Infiot, announced on August 2. The deal will enable Netskope to utilize Infiot’s technology to offer customers uniform security and quality of experience policies to the widest range of hybrid work needs.
Thoma Bravo Agrees Deal to Buy Ping Identity
In what proved to be a busy month in the cybersecurity space for private equity giant Thoma Bravo, the company announced on August 3 that it had agreed a deal to acquire Ping Identity for $2.8bn. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022. Following the announcement, Andre Durand, chief executive officer at Ping Identity said: “This compelling transaction is a testament to Ping Identity's leading enterprise identity solutions, our talented team, and our outstanding customers and partners.”
Digital Shadows Acquired by ReliaQuest
ReliaQuest’s $160m purchase of Digital Shadows completed in early August, around two months after the deal was agreed. The transaction is designed to boost ReliaQuest’s security operations platform by incorporating Digital Shadows threat intelligence technology and expertise.
CMA Approves NortonLifeLock’s Takeover of Avast
NortonLifeLock’s purchase of Czech-based cybersecurity firm Avast made more progress on August 3 as the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) tentatively approved the deal. A final decision from the CMA is expected on September 8, 2022. The $8.6bn deal was first agreed in August 2021 and has already been approved by anti-monopoly authorities in the US, Spain and Germany.
Flashpoint Acquires Echosec Systems
Early August saw Flashpoint, an actionable intelligence company, acquire Echosec Systems for an undisclosed fee. The purchase will enable Flashpoint to leverage Echosec’s social media collections and geospatial insights to enhance its open-source intelligence insights. Flashpoint president Donald Saelinger stated: “Integrating Echosec’s worldwide social media collections, intuitive interface and industry expertise into Flashpoint will deliver unparalleled value to our customers, to help them best identify and mitigate all types of risk.”
Thoma Bravo Enters Discussions to Acquire Darktrace
The most significant M&A news of the month came with the August 15 announcement that Thoma Bravo had begun discussions about the acquisition of AI cybersecurity vendor Darktrace. Thoma Bravo has until 17.00 on September 12, 2022 to announce a firm intention to make an offer for Darktrace or not. Read Infosecurity’s analysis of the potential deal here.
SailPoint Acquired by Thoma Bravo
Shortly after the announcement regarding the possible takeover of Darktrace, Thomas Bravo revealed it had completed the acquisition of enterprise identity firm Sailpoint for around $6.9bn. Thoma Bravo now aims to expand Sailpoint’s global customer base. Seth Boro, managing partner at Thoma Bravo, outlined: “SailPoint is at the forefront of the growing identity security market and is well-positioned to further capitalize on the increasing demand from enterprises for innovative and trusted solutions.”
KKR Completes Acquisition of Barracuda From Thoma Bravo
Thoma Bravo were also on the other side of a cybersecurity transaction in August, with global investment firm KKR completing its purchase of cloud security provider Barracuda Networks from it for an undisclosed fee. Commenting on the deal on August 16, Hatem Naguib, CEO of Barracuda, said: “We’re ready to deliver on our next phase of growth with KKR and remain dedicated to investing in our team and product portfolio to provide innovative cybersecurity solutions for our customers and partners.”
OpenText Reaches Agreement to Acquire Micro Focus
Canadian-based OpenText’s deal to purchase software giant Micro Focus is believed to be worth around $6bn. The acquisition, announced on August 25, is designed to provide meaningful revenue and operating scale to cloud information management company OpenText. Mark J. Barrenechea, CEO and CTO at OpenText said: “Upon completion of the acquisition, OpenText will be one of the world’s largest software and cloud businesses with a tremendous marquee customer base, global scale and comprehensive go-to-market.”
11:11 Systems to Acquire Cloud Management Services Business from Sungard Availability Services
Managed infrastructure solutions provider 11:11 Systems entered into an asset purchase agreement to acquire Sungard Availability Services’ cloud managed services business. The deal will provide 11:11 with skilled teams specializing in areas like cloud management and AWS and Azure cybersecurity. Brett Diamond, CEO at 11:11: “Sungard AS’ impressive community of enterprise cloud customers is accustomed to a technology partner that is not only expert at managing its cloud infrastructure, but also provides proven expertise in security and recovery services, and these customers will continue to enjoy those advantages with 11:11.”