Security company Darktrace agreed in April to a takeover by investment company Thoma Bravo. Now the deal is official.
Thoma Bravo also owns security companies Sophos, Proofpoint, Ping Identity and Venafi. However, Darktrace is not expected to lose its own identity within this portfolio. Rather, it is likely that Thoma Bravo will eventually sell Darktrace for a profit, as was true of Barracuda Networks in 2022.
The acquisition amount is $5.32 billion (4.95 billion euros). So this time an acquisition succeeds, after a potential deal had fallen through in 2022. To increase Darktrace’s value, Thoma Bravo wants to focus mainly on expansion for the cybersecurity company.
“Darktrace holds a unique position at the forefront of cybersecurity technology,” said Seth Boro, Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo. “Our ambition is to help the business scale to be a truly global player, expanding the team’s innovative pipeline of development opportunities and capabilities for its customers. We are excited to work alongside Jill [Popelka, CEO Darktrace, ed.] and the Darktrace team to build on their success, supporting their ambitions to protect the world from the most advanced cyber threats.”
Darktrace works differently
“Cyber AI” is a popular term within the walls of Darktrace. Speaking with Techzine, SVP Cyber Innovation Pieter Jansen explained that his company specializes in AI with a focus on security, not the other way around.
Read more: “Darktrace has no competition, only partnerships”