Cybersecurity firm Darktrace accepts $5 billion acquisition

London: Cybersecurity firm Darktrace said on Friday it had accepted a $5.3 billion takeover offer from US private equity firm Thoma Bravo, highlighting the British group’s “artificial intelligence capabilities”.

The cash offer was made after Thoma Bravo expressed interest in taking over two years ago.

“Darktrace is at the cutting edge of cybersecurity technology and we have long been admirers of its platform and artificial intelligence capabilities,” Thoma Bravo partner Andrew Almeida said in a statement.

“The pace of cybersecurity innovation is accelerating in response to cyber threats that are at once sophisticated, global and sophisticated.”

Darktrace chief executive Poppy Gustafsson said the group’s “technology has never been more relevant in a world increasingly at risk of artificial intelligence cyberattacks.”

Darktrace, based in the university town of Cambridge near London, debuted on the London Stock Exchange in 2021.

According to Thoma Bravo, the cash deal announced on Friday is worth $7.75 per Darktrace share, representing a 44 percent premium to the group’s average share price over the past three months.

Following the announcement, the share price rose 18 percent to 612 pence ($7.7).

Created in 2013, Darktrace employs over 2,300 people around the world.

“The proposed acquisition will provide Darktrace with access to a forceful financial partner in Thoma Bravo, with deep expertise in the software sector, which can strengthen the company’s position as a best-in-class UK-based cyber artificial intelligence company,” said Gordon Hurst, chairman of Darktrace in a statement.

Both hope to complete the deal in the second half of the year with shareholder and regulatory approval.

Almeida noted that Thoma Bravo has been investing “exclusively in software for over two decades,” which will allow it to bring “operational expertise and deep cybersecurity experience to support Darktrace’s development.”

Before Friday’s announcement, Darktrace’s shares had rallied sharply after independent auditor EY confirmed that the company had accounting irregularities.

Explaining its decision to go private, Darktrace said its “operational and financial achievements have not been proportionately reflected in the valuation, and the stock is trading at a significant discount to its global peer.”

– Acquisition boom –

The offering comes at the end of a week in which the London Stock Exchange has been gripped by takeover activity, pushing the leading FTSE 100 index to record highs.

British mining giant Anglo American on Friday rejected a blockbuster $38.8 billion takeover offer from Australian rival BHP, describing it as “highly unattractive” and “opportunistic.”

Meanwhile, the battle to buy British music rights holder Hipgnosis Songs Fund has taken a up-to-date turn after US rival Concord increased its takeover bid, narrowly beating Blackstone’s offer.

Concord on Wednesday offered $1.5 billion to Hipgnosis, whose catalog includes Justin Bieber, Shakira and Neil Youthful.

That’s more than the initial $1.4 billion offer that preceded a higher offer from U.S. asset management company Blackstone.