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

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.

Aldrin Brown, Editor-in-Chief

November 28, 2017

2 Min Read
Barracuda Networks Website Screengrab

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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About the Author

Aldrin Brown

Editor-in-Chief, Penton

Veteran journalist Aldrin Brown comes to Penton Technology from Empire Digital Strategies, a business-to-business consulting firm that he founded that provides e-commerce, content and social media solutions to businesses, nonprofits and other organizations seeking to create or grow their digital presence.

Previously, Brown served as the Desert Bureau Chief for City News Service in Southern California and Regional Editor for Patch, AOL's network of local news sites. At Patch, he managed a staff of journalists and more than 30 hyper-local and business news and information websites throughout California. In addition to his work in technology and business, Brown was the city editor for The Sun, a daily newspaper based in San Bernardino, CA; the college sports editor at The Tennessean, Nashville, TN; and an investigative reporter at the Orange County Register, Santa Ana, CA.

 

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