September 2022 was another busy moth for M&A in the cybersecurity industry. Headline-grabbing announcements included the failed takeover of Darktrace, Google’s completion of the acquisition of Mandiant and Crowdstrike’s agreement to acquire Reposify. Here is Infosecurity Magazine’s roundup of a number of M&A news that emerged in September.
HelpSystems Acquires Outflank
US-based cybersecurity vendor HelpSystems added to its portfolio on September 1 with the purchase of Outflank for an undisclosed fee. HelpSystems will now be able to assimilate the Dutch firm’s expertise in adversary simulation, specialist cybersecurity trainings and cloud-based software offering for red teams into its offensive security portfolio.
Proposed Darktrace Takeover Cancelled
In August, it was reported that Darktrace had entered discussions regarding a possible takeover by private equity giant Thoma Bravo, which many analysts believed could have been one of the most significant M&A deals of 2022. However, the proposed £6bn deal fell through on September 7, 2022, when Thoma Bravo withdrew from talks. UK-based Darktrace’s shares plummeted 31% immediately following the announcement that the talks had ended.
VxIntel Joins Arctic Wolf to Boost Detection and Threat Intelligence
On September 8, 2022, Arctic Wolf, an American company firm providing managed security services, announced that it had acquired vxIntel, a leading provider of cyber threat intelligence, for an undisclosed amount. “VxIntel’s Malware Intelligence Platform currently analyzes over 500,000 files each day and over 10 terabytes of data each month from over 100 global data sources. The massive scale of their platform has helped them to create one of the largest malware databases in the world and become an essential threat intelligence source for dozens of enterprise organizations, government agencies, and leading cybersecurity companies around the world,” said Arctic Wolf.
Distology Extends to Germany by acquiring Squareball
UK-based, EMEA-focused Distology announced on September 8, 2022 it was acquiring Squareball, a German firm specializing in software engineering, product design, solution architecture, and identity access management (IAM) consultancy for an undisclosed amount. Prior to this acquisition, Squareball was already working with two of Distology’s core vendors, Okta and Auth0.
Google Completes Acquisition of Mandiant
Tech giant Google announced on September 12, 2022 that it had completed its acquisition of Virginia-based cybersecurity firm Mandiant for $5.4bn. The deal, which was agreed in March 2022, will see Mandiant join Google Cloud. Google also confirmed that the Mandiant name and brand will continue to be used.
Cryptosense joins Google spin-out SandboxAQ
SandboxAQ, an AI and quantum startup founded by former Alphabet’s employees in early 2022, purchased French post-quantum cryptography (PQC) specialist Cryptosense on September 14, 2022. This acquisition complements and accelerates the deployment of SandboxAQ's PQC solutions to corporations and government institutions worldwide. SandboxAQ's cybersecurity products enable large enterprises to scale cryptography management across their IT infrastructure, providing CISOs with a single, 360° view of how encryption is used throughout the enterprise.
Crowdstrike Agrees Deal to Acquire Reposify
Cloud security firm Crowdstrike announced it has agreed to acquire startup company Reposify Ltd. on September 20, 2022 for an undisclosed fee. Israel-based Reposify launched in 2017, and specializes in scanning organizations’ exposed assets on the internet. Crowdstrike said the purchase price would be paid predominantly in cash.
Devo Technology Purchases LogicHub
Devo Technology continued its significant growth this year with the acquisition of orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) firm LogicHub on September 20, 2022. Devo said the deal allows it to realise its vision to deliver the autonomous SOC.
Proteus Acquisition Boosts Resourcive Cybersecurity Consulting Practice
New York-based technology advisor Resourcive is buying cybersecurity consulting firm Proteus Advisors, it announced on September 20, 2022. “We've been chipping away at cybersecurity practice ourselves, and I think now is the time to pour fuel on that fire," Resourcive president Kyle Hall told Channel Futures. The amount of the acquisition was not disclosed.
New Zealand Consultancy InPhySec Latest of Fujitsu’s Acquisitions
On September 21, 2022, two weeks before its upcoming ActivateNow event, Fujitsu announced its Australia and New Zealand branch was acquiring one of New Zealand’s largest cyber security consulting company InPhySec. This purchase builds upon Fujitsu’s active M&A strategy, having recently acquired firms Versor, oobe and Enable Professional Services.
Allurity Snaps Up Aiuken Cybersecurity
Swedish group Allurity seems to be on a journey to become Europe’s leading cybersecurity provider. After the purchases of Swedish companies Arctic Group, ID North and Pulsen IAM, Allurity turned itself to Spain for its latest acquisition, with SOC-as-a-service specialist Aiuken Cybersecurity, to help achieve this goal. The former Telefónica executive Juan Miguel Velasco, co-founder and CEO of Aiuken, will continue to lead the company.
Jamf Buys ZecOps to Offer Security Solution for Mobile Devices
Jamf, a US-based Apple enterprise management vendor, announced on September 30, 2022 plans to purchase American startup ZecOps to extend its ability to detect and respond to sophisticated threats across Mac, iOS and Android devices. ZecOps examines logs, processes and past crashes and then applies security and intelligence to data to determine whether a device has been compromised. Terms of the acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of 2022, weren't disclosed.
Palo Alto in Talks to Buy Apiiro For up to $600m
Several tech media outlets have reported cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks plans to acquire in Israeli startup Apiiro, a code risk platform provider. The deal, estimated to be worth upwards of $550 million by some, up to $600m by others, would be Palo Alto's eighth acquisition in Israel. Despite the news coverage, the deal has not yet been officially announced and neither Palo Alto nor Apiiro would comment.