Vista Equity Partners Buying KnowBe4 for $4.6 Billion, Taking It Private

It’s official: Vista Equity Partners is acquiring KnowBe4 for $4.6 billion, taking the security awareness training provider private again.

Last month, KnowBe4 confirmed receiving a proposal from Vista Equity Partners to acquire all outstanding shares of the company

The all-cash transaction should wrap in the first half of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions. Those include receipt of regulatory approvals and approval by KnowBe4 stockholders.

Vista Equity Partners will acquire all outstanding shares of the company for $24.90 per share in cash. The proposal represents a 44% premium over KnowBe4’s closing price on Sept. 16. That was the last full trading day before Vista Equity Partners publicly disclosed its initial, non-binding acquisition proposal.

Vista Equity Partners Acquisition Next Phase of KnowBe4’s Journey

Stu Sjouwerman is KnowBe4‘s founder, chairman and CEO.

KnowBe4’s Stu Sjouwerman

“Today’s announcement is a testament to the success of our strategy and the strength of our incredible team,” he said. “This acquisition by Vista represents the next phase of our journey. KnowBe4 has a strong record of performance, as evidenced by our market-leading platform and global customer base. Under Vista’s ownership, we will have access to additional resources and support, which will help us achieve our goals and deliver enhanced value to our customers. We look forward to partnering with Vista’s team to continue empowering businesses worldwide to strengthen their human firewall and make smarter security decisions every day.”

KnowBe4 became a public company in April of last year. Its U.S. initial public offering (IPO) was worth more than $2 billion.

When the transaction closes, KnowBe4’s shares will no longer trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and it will become a private company.

Cybersecurity Interesting, Active Area for Vista Equity Partners

Vista Equity Partners said cybersecurity remains an interesting and active area for the investment firm. This year, it announced a $1 billion investment in Securonix and a $215 million investment in Critical Start. In addition, it sold SecureLink to Imprivata after a successful five-year partnership. And it’s selling Ping Identity to Thoma Bravo for $2.8 billion.

KnowBe4 is Vista Equity Partners’ third take private of the year, following Citrix and Avalara.

Vista Equity Partners’ Rod Aliabadi

Rod Aliabadi is managing director at Vista Equity Partners.

“As a significant investor in KnowBe4, we could not be more excited to take this next step in our journey together,”he said. “We have long appreciated the work that KnowBe4 does in strengthening the human layer of cybersecurity through educating employees on how to identify social engineering and related cyber threats.”