The acquisition by KKR is expected to provide Barracuda with the resources and expertise to further expedite its growth and support its strategic expansion in important areas like managed detection and response, secure access service edge technology, and extended detection and response
Thoma Bravo to sell cybersecurity firm Barracuda to KKR. (Credit: Pete Linforth from Pixabay)
KKR has agreed to acquire Barracuda Networks, a US-based cloud-first security solutions provider, from Thoma Bravo for an undisclosed price.
The acquisition of Barracuda will be carried out by KKR’s investment funds.
The deal values the cybersecurity firm at around $4bn, including debt, reported Reuters, citing undisclosed sources.
KKR Americas technology private equity head John Park said: “We continue to see cybersecurity as a highly attractive sector and are excited to back a clear leader in the space.
“Given its proven track record of growth and innovation, we believe that Barracuda has the right team and model to capture business in this growing market.”
Established in 2003, Barracuda has a suite of cybersecurity solutions to offer across email protection, network security, application security, and data protection. The deployment and management of the solutions can be taken up in the cloud as well as hybrid environments.
The security solutions provider is said to be focused on catering to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). It is claimed to have over 200,000 customers around the world across various industries such as government, education, financial services, retail, consumer goods, health care, and manufacturing.
Thoma Bravo had acquired Barracuda for $1.6bn in an all-cash deal that closed in February 2018.
Under the ownership of Thoma Bravo, the cybersecurity firm is said to have grown and improved its product suite apart from carrying out various acquisitions.
KKR is expected to offer resources and expertise to Barracuda to further speed up its growth and back its strategic expansion in key areas such as managed detection and response, secure access service edge technology, and extended detection and response.
Barracuda CEO Hatem Naguib said: “We believe that with the support of KKR, we will continue to invest in growth and foster a culture that gives our team the resources and inspiration to continue to create and deliver the next generation of leading cybersecurity solutions for our customers and partners.
“We are very appreciative of Thoma Bravo’s support and very excited to be working with KKR on this next phase of Barracuda’s journey.”
The deal, which is subject to customary conditions, is expected to close by the end of the year.
Earlier this week, Thoma Bravo agreed to acquire SailPoint Technologies, a US-based enterprise identity security provider, for a sum of around $6.9bn.