Barracuda Networks and SailPoint secure billion-dollar takeovers
Deals for SailPoint and Barracuda show that big tech M&A is officially back
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The technology mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market appears to be back in a big way after two huge deals were unveiled for major cybersecurity companies by huge private equity firms.
The first, and the bigger of the two deals, came from American PE giant Thoma Bravo buying SailPoint, which offers tools for businesses to give employees access to secure remote working tools.
Thedeal, which takes SailPoint private, values the company at $6.9 billion, a premium on SailPoint’s closing price. The Texas-based company saw its shares soar after the deal wasreportedby theFinancial Times.
Deals, deals, deals
The second deal saw PE behemoth KKR buying Barracuda Networks, this time from Thoma Bravo in adealvaluing Barracuda at around $4 billion.
Barracuda offers SaaS tools to help companies manage their cybersecurity needs, an increasingly important thing to be doing in the modern IT landscape.
Both of these M&A are huge, but that wasn’t even all the activity in the space this week.
Earlier this week, Datto – which offers cloud backup tools for small and medium-sized businesses – wasacquiredby Kaseya for $6.2 billion in cash, funded by Insight Partners and other PE firms.
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And earlier in March, Thoma Bravoagreedto acquire Anaplan, which makes cloud-based business planning software, for a staggering $10.7 billion.
Data backup company Datto to be taken private by Kaseya in $6 billion deal>Vodafone ‘receives approaches’ for Vantage Towers>This browser you’ve never heard of is now worth a billion dollars
TV ratings company Nielsen was also recentlyacquiredby PE firms for around $16 billion and software company Citrix wastaken privateby Elliott Management for $16.5 billion.
A crazy world
All of this deal making is pretty extraordinary and largely comes down to the fact that PE firms have raised huge sums of money and valuations for technology companies are going lower after the pandemic.
Thoma Bravo, for example,raised$35 billion for buyouts at the end of 2021, money that is currently being deployed to great effect.
Max Slater-Robins has been writing about technology for nearly a decade at various outlets, covering the rise of the technology giants, trends in enterprise and SaaS companies, and much more besides. Originally from Suffolk, he currently lives in London and likes a good night out and walks in the countryside.
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