Private equity firm Thoma Bravo has agreed to acquire Darktrace in a $5.32 billion (£4.25 billion) cash acquisition.
This translates to roughly $7.75 (£6.20) per share, which is a 44% premium over the company’s average share price as calculated over the last three months.
Darktrace, headquartered in Cambridge, focuses on cybersecurity, employing self-learning AI to counteract and automate reactions to cyber threats via its Darktrace ActiveAI Security Platform. The company caters to approximately 9,400 clients globally.
Thoma Bravo’s acquisition of Darktrace adds to its cybersecurity portfolio, which is currently estimated at around $45 billion in value.
The loss of Darktrace from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was described as ‘disappointing news.’ There have been calls for greater pro-business reforms to help maintain London’s attractiveness for technology companies.
Darktrace was established in 2013 by Invoke Capital, an investment firm led by Autonomy’s founder Mike Lynch. He now holds a 3.9% stake in Darktrace, positioning him to gain just over $200 million from its sale. His wife holds an additional 2.9%.
Concurrently, Lynch is entangled in a fraud trial in San Francisco. He is reportedly facing accusations of being the ‘driving force’ behind significant fraud at Autonomy.
Autonomy was the software company he co-founded and eventually sold to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion (£8.6bn) in 2011.
The acquisition represents a significant development in the cybersecurity industry.