Datto Reportedly Mulling Strategic Options, Including Possible Sale

Datto reportedly is considering its strategic options, including a possible sale, after receiving takeover interest from private equity firms.

According to Bloomberg, Datto is working with a financial adviser to solicit interest from potential suitors. Private equity firms have already expressed interest in Datto, said one of the persons it cited.

Datto couldn’t be reached for comment. The company hasn’t yet made any decision regarding its strategic options.

The MSP technology company became publicly traded in October 2020. It began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), selling 22 million shares to raise $594 million in its initial public offering (IPO).

However, Datto’s stock price has fallen 13% since its IPO. Its shares closed Wednesday at $23.37, giving the company a market value of $3.8 billion.

Vista Equity Partners backs Datto. Key rivals include ConnectWise, N-Able, Kaseya and NinjaOne.

Adjacent Market Player Most Likely Suitor

Dennis Hahn is senior analyst of data center storage at Omdia. (Omdia and Channel Futures share a parent company, Informa.) He said Datto’s IP overlaps most of the major market players, so a suitor would likely be an adjacent market player.

Omdia’s Dennis Hahn

“HPE purchased Zerto not too long ago,” he said. “A sale would be investors cashing out, I think. Additional investment to reposition into a new market need area might work, if the investment was properly managed.”

In January, Datto acquired Infocyte, the threat detection and response provider. Datto said the deal improves its security position to thwart cyberthreats found within endpoints and cloud environments.

Also in January, Datto snagged Splunk vet Brooke Cunningham as its new chief marketing officer (CMO). She was with Splunk for nearly six years and her most recent role was area vice president of global partner marketing and experience.