Bekker's Blog

Blog archive

Private Equity Firm To Acquire Imperva for $2.1 Billion

Private equity technology investment firm Thoma Bravo LLC continued its sweep of security and other key channel companies with an agreement to acquire Imperva Inc. for $2.1 billion.

Imperva, which specializes in protection of data and applications on-premises and in the cloud, announced the agreement on Tuesday. The deal would leave the current executive team in place and keep its headquarters in Redwood Shores, Calif.

That "buy and build" approach is common for Thoma Bravo, which defines the investment business model on its Web site as advising firms it invests in "to create value through operational improvements, internal expansion and accretive acquisitions."

Chris Hylen, president and CEO of Imperva, described benefits of the deal beyond the value to Imperva stockholders. "The company will have greater flexibility to focus on executing our long-term strategy," Hylen said in a statement.

In the same statement, Chip Virnig, a partner at Thoma Bravo, emphasized the private equity firm's experience with similar companies. "Our expertise and track record investing in cybersecurity fits squarely with Imperva's long-term roadmap, and we look forward to advancing the Company's market position in this rapidly-growing security segment," Virnig said.

Thoma Bravo owns or holds a major stake in several companies that are important business partners for many Microsoft partners. Those companies include Barracuda Networks Inc., Centrify Corp., Continuum Managed Services, McAfee LLC, Nintex Global Ltd., Riverbed Technology Inc. and SolarWinds Inc.

The Imperva board has a 45-day "go-shop" period to solicit other acquisition proposals as part of the acquisition agreement. The parties expect the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2018 or in the first quarter of 2019, assuming Imperva's stockholders approve and all regulatory hurdles are cleared.

Posted by Scott Bekker on October 11, 2018 at 12:26 PM


Featured

  • Microsoft Mesh for Teams Coming in October Preview

    A public preview of Microsoft Mesh for Microsoft Teams will arrive next month.

  • Azure Database for MariaDB Ending in 2025

    Microsoft will "retire" its Azure Database for MariaDB service on Sept. 19, 2025.

  • Orgs Now Getting the New Outlook for Windows

    The new Outlook for Windows 11 app is now at the "general availability" release stage for personal users, but it's also "enterprise ready."

  • Four New Microsoft Surface Devices Unveiled at Event

    Four new Surface devices for businesses were announced during Microsoft's fall hardware event.