Global Cyber-security company Proofpoint has announced that it will be acquired by private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo. Expansion plans in Belfast are as-yet unchanged.
US Cyber-security firm Proofpoint has been expanding its presence in Belfast for the past several years, becoming an important leader in the rapidly growing NI cyber-security industry. The Belfast team works directly with global firms to secure their systems and data against cyber-attacks, and the company has been recognised by Gartner's Magic Quadrant report as a market leader in cyber-security training.
Proofpoint has now entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by global private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo. The deal values Proofpoint at around $12.3 billion US and shareholders will receive $176 per share, roughly 34% higher than the company's closing share price on April 23rd the day before the transaction was announced.
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The firm will now become a private company under Thoma Bravo, which invests primarily in successful software companies and currently manages over $76 billion US in assets. Proofpoint's plans for expansion are as-yet unchanged, and it will potentially have more access to capital for future expansion efforts.
Proofpoint Chairman and CEO Gary Steele commented: "We have made tremendous strides in expanding the sophistication and scale of our offerings, and in 2020 we generated more than $1 billion in annual revenue – making Proofpoint the first SaaS-based cybersecurity and compliance company to reach that milestone. We believe that as a private company, we can be even more agile with greater flexibility to continue investing in innovation, building on our leadership position and staying ahead of threat actors."
Source: Written based on press release, original press release
