Barracuda Networks to be Acquired by Thoma Bravo in $1.6 Billion Deal

Data security vendor Barracuda Networks has agreed to be purchased by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in a $1.6 billion cash deal.

Under terms of the agreement, Barracuda shareholders will receive $27.55 per share of common stock, which represents a premium of 22.5 percent over average price of $22.49 in the 10 days leading up to the deal’s announcement on Monday.

The acquisition – which is pending regulatory approval and other typical closing conditions – is expected to close before the end of Barracuda’s fiscal year on Feb. 28, 2018.

“We believe the proposed transaction offers an opportunity for us to accelerate our growth with our industry-leading security platform that’s purpose-built for highly distributed, diverse cloud and hybrid environments,” Barracuda CEO BJ Jenkins said in a statement. “We will continue Barracuda’s tradition of delivering easy-to-use, full-featured solutions that can be deployed in the way that makes sense for our customers.”

“Thoma Bravo has an excellent history of investing in growing security businesses, and this transaction speaks to the value and strength of Barracuda’s security platform, which helps customers protect and manage their networks, applications, and data,” Jenkins’ statement continued. “I expect that our employees, customers, and partners will benefit from this partnership.”

Following consummation of the acquisition, Barracuda will be completely privately held, with a continuing focus on cloud-enabled email, network and application security.

Thoma Bravo’s portfolio already contains several major names in the managed service provider (MSP) space, including Continuum Managed Services and Solwarwinds MSP.

Other prior or current holdings include Sonicwall, Blue Coat Systems and LANDesk.

Financing for the Barracuda purchase is being provided by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Credit Suisse, and UBS Investment Bank.

“Barracuda is a proven industry leader, consistently bringing powerful, comprehensive solutions to customers in an increasingly prevalent, hostile, and complex threat environment,” Seth Boro, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo, said in a statement. “We believe that Barracuda is at the forefront of innovation in several highly strategic areas of the cybersecurity market and are excited to be the company’s partner in the next phase of its growth.”

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