Thoma Bravo’s $5B Darktrace Bet Highlights Cyber’s AI Excitement
Darktrace, the United Kingdom-based cybersecurity powerhouse -- with a client list that includes the city of Las Vegas and Airbus -- had refused earlier an Thoma Bravo bid.
Cybersecurity giant Darktrace, a UK firm specializing in AI-enabled threat detection, accepted a $5.32 billion bid by US private equity powerhouse Thoma Brava that would take the firm private.
Darktrace Chair Gordon Hurst in a statement suggested that Thoma Bravo’s most recent bid was too sweet to pass up. “The proposed offer represents an attractive premium and an opportunity for shareholders to receive the certainty of a cash consideration at a fair value for their shares,” he said. “The proposed acquisition will provide Darktrace access to a strong financial partner in Thoma Bravo, with deep software sector expertise.”
This is not Thoma Bravo’s first dip into the UK’s cybersecurity pool. In 2020, the firm acquired anti-virus software maker Sophos for $3.9 billion. Before the acquisition, the firm said its cybersecurity portfolio, which includes high-profile companies such as Barracuda, McAfee, ConnectWise, and many more, had reached $45 billion. Darktrace boasts a global client base of more than 9,400.
“Darktrace is at the very cutting edge of cybersecurity technology, and we have long been admirers of its platform and capability in artificial intelligence,” Thoma Bravo partner Andrew Almeida said in a statement. “The pace of innovation in cybersecurity is accelerating in response to cyber threats that are simultaneously complex, global and sophisticated.”
Thoma Bravo’s offer represented a premium of 20% over Darktrace’s closing share price last week. That gap narrowed as Darktrace shares jumped with the acquisition news. Shares in the company, which was founded in 2013, doubled over the last year and were trading at $7.58 Monday afternoon.