Cyber M&A

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CyberArk's acquisition of Venafi

ID security acquisition to spark M&A growth

Identity security company CyberArk has announced that it is acquiring machine identity management specialist Venafi for US $1.54 billion from software-focused investor Thoma Bravo, which already manages US$138 billion in assets. The acquisition is being seen by some market sources as the start of more highly-focused acquisition-driven growth in the increasingly sharply defined and specialized cybersecurity sector. The logic behind the Venafi acquisition is clear. According to CyberArk, the number of machines is rapidly outpacing the growth of their human counterparts, with more than 40 machine identities for every human identity. By adding Venafi’s machine identity management to its dominant identity security position, CyberArk expects to expand its total addressable market by almost US$10 billion to around US$60 billion.

$5bn Darktrace deal to boost cyber sector

Private equity (PE) firm Thomas Bravo is to take UK cybersecurity company Darktrace private in a deal valuing the firm at over $5 billion. The US-based PE firm, which manages around $140 billion in assets, intends to use its US market experience to expand Darktrace’s worldwide operations. News of the deal comes hard on the heels of better-than-expected quarterly earnings from US tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft. Darktrace claims to be a global leader in cybersecurity artificial intelligence (AI), protecting over 9000 customers from ransomware, cloud, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) attacks. Its main research center is in Cambridge, UK, with a second research and development facility in the Hague, Netherlands. The firm holds over 145 patents and pending applications.

Cisco acquires Splunk

Cisco bets the farm on Splunk

Cisco’s US$28 billion acquisition of cybersecurity firm Splunk is the largest acquisition in the networking giant’s history. It is now being seen as a clear signpost for the future value of cybersecurity companies worldwide. The price paid for the 20-year-old San Francisco company represented over 12 percent of Cisco’s US$198 billion market capitalization. The $28 billion acquisition was closed within only six months, at a time when many large mergers are being blocked or delayed by regulators.  “We will revolutionize the way our customers leverage data to connect and protect every aspect of their organization as we help power and protect the AI revolution,” said Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins.

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