Merger/Acquisition Train Keeps Chugging: IBM, Telarus, Google, T-Mobile, More
We also highlight deals by Telesystem, Accenture, Arctic Wolf, Schneider Electric and more.
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IBM announced the acquisition of Dialexa, a digital product engineering services firm with offices in Dallas and Chicago. It’s IBM’s sixth acquisition this year.
Expect the deal to strengthen Big Blue’s hybrid cloud and AI skills and capabilities.
IBM isn’t saying how much it’s paying for Dialexa. Look for the deal to close this quarter.
Tech solutions brokerage Telarus continued its recent buying spree by picking up TelAdvocate Communications, based in Tampa, Florida. Telarus earlier this year bought fellow services distributor TCG.
Telarus claims to be the largest among its peers in terms of new monthly bookings and revenue.
Learn more about the acquiree.
After rumors early in the year linked Mandiant with Microsoft, the former instead connected with Google Cloud. The No. 3 public cloud provider finalized its $5.4 billion acquisition of the security provider, which will widen the scope of its security services via Mandiant’s deep threat intelligence resources.
Mandiant formed from the FireEye’s selloff of products and its brand to a consortium for $1.2 billion.
Get the full scoop on Google Cloud’s plans for Mandiant now that the deal is done.
It looked like upstart UK-based security provider Darktrace, which only went public last year, was primed to become Thoma Bravo’s latest acquisition target. The private equity firm has feasted on the tech space in the last few years.
However, on Sept. 8, news broke that Thoma Bravo was indeed no longer interested in acquiring Darktrace. That caused the company’s value to fall 35% in one day last month on the London Stock Exchange. It has fared much better since, having fallen another 9% in the past month as much of the market has struggled.
Thoma Bravo could make another offer for the company, but British takeover rules require the firm to wait six months.
Schneider Electric shelled out $11 billion for the remainder of Aveva, the UK software firm, of which it already owned 60%.
Aveva has more than 6,400 employees. Schneider says it has no plans to make changes to Aveva’s employee base — in other words, supposedly no layoffs. The company also intends to keep Aveva as a software business, with its headquarters remaining in Cambridge, UK.
Learn more about this multibillion-dollar deal.
Cogent Communications is snatching up T-Mobile’s wireline business so the latter can focus on its far more profitable wireless business. Look for the deal to close in the second half of 2023.
The deal puts a bow on T-Mobile’s 2020 acquisition of Sprint, a $26 billion deal.
Read why one partner calls the decision an “excellent move for T-Mobile.”
Will security awareness training provider KnowBe4 sell to a private equity firm?
Vista Equity Partners submitted a proposal to buy KnowBe4, which only became a public company last year.
It would be a hefty haul for KnowBe4 shareholders, as the proposal of $24 per share is a 39% premium over the security company’s closing price on Sept. 16.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this; you can get more information on it here.
Telesystem made its first dive into the cybersecurity market by buying Threat Protector.
With Threat Protector, Telesystem gets security awareness training, managed SOC and device endpoint protection. Telesystem didn’t say how much it paid for Threat Protector.
Threat Protector will remain a brand; Telesystem will use it as the name for its entire security portfolio.
Here’s everything you need to know about the deal.
Security company Arctic Wolf upped its game with the acquisition of vxIntel, a provider of cyber threat intelligence.
Look for vxIntel to become part of Arctic Wolf Labs, which brings together Arctic Wolf’s security research team with data scientists and security development engineers. They will focus on threat detection and response for customers, partners and the security community at large.
Read more about the deal in this edition of the Gately Report.
Accenture, the global systems integrator, had a busy month on the M&A front.
In fact, in just one week, it bought The Beacon Group, a growth strategy consultancy, and Inspirage, a supply chain specialist with expertise in Oracle Cloud.
The GSI said the deals are just two examples of the billions it plans to spend on M&A to fuel its own expansion and capabilities.
Terms of the deals weren’t revealed, but you can learn more about them here.
Cybersecurity company NortonLifeLock wrapped its acquisition of Avast.
“We believe that everyone deserves the freedom to live their digital lives to the fullest,” said Vincent Pilette, CEO of NortonLifeLock and the combined company. “A half-billion users trust us to protect and empower their digital lives, and now that NortonLifeLock and Avast have come together, we plan to redefine and reimagine cyber safety for consumers and small businesses around the world.”
The combined company will be known as NortonLifeLock. The deal is worth $8.6 billion.
Cybersecurity company NortonLifeLock wrapped its acquisition of Avast.
“We believe that everyone deserves the freedom to live their digital lives to the fullest,” said Vincent Pilette, CEO of NortonLifeLock and the combined company. “A half-billion users trust us to protect and empower their digital lives, and now that NortonLifeLock and Avast have come together, we plan to redefine and reimagine cyber safety for consumers and small businesses around the world.”
The combined company will be known as NortonLifeLock. The deal is worth $8.6 billion.
Merger and acquisition activity came to a grinding halt in September. What, you didn’t buy that?
Of course it didn’t. The channel-impacting deals kept on coming.
Take, for instance, Google Cloud closing its acquisition of Mandiant, which at first we thought was going Microsoft’s way. Speaking of security, KnowBe4 is in talks to be acquired by a private equity firm. And when one high profile deal fell through, it wasn’t good for one security company’s value.
In September, we watched as Telarus made its second big deal of the year. And T-Mobile got a not-so-profitable monkey off its back.
You can read about each merger and acquisition we’ve featured in the slideshow above. It includes 11 deals that had the channel talking last month — and beyond.
Miss last month’s M&A roundup? It’s here. Looking to keep up with our merger and acquisition stories nearly 24/7? You can do that here.
Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email Craig Galbraith or connect with him on LinkedIn. |
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