Thoma Bravo UK cyber deal looks a little too good
26/04/2024 12:09
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are her own.)
By Aimee Donnellan
LONDON, April 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The buyout
firm finally agreed a takeover of long-term target Darktrace, an
IT security specialist. Despite the generous-looking 44% premium
on offer, the buyer’s returns seem juicy given a nascent US
push. That may raise the chance of shareholders asking for more
money.
Full view will be published shortly.
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CONTEXT NEWS
Private-equity group Thoma Bravo on April 26 said it had
agreed to buy Darktrace for $5.3 billion. The board of the
UK-listed cybersecurity company has recommended Thoma Bravo’s
all-cash offer to shareholders.
The offer price is fixed in U.S. dollars at $7.75 per share.
Using April 25 exchange rates, that values Darktrace at 6.20
pounds per share, or 44% above its undisturbed price.
Using April 26 exchange rates, the offer is worth 6.19
pounds. Darktrace shares were trading at 6.15 pounds as of 0846
GMT on April 26.
(Editing by Liam Proud and Streisand Neto)
((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
click on DONNELLAN/
Aimee.Donnellan@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
Aimee.Donnellan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))