Buyout firms vie for cybersecurity firm Trend Micro, sources say

Trend Micro Incorporated

13/02/2025 24:30

By Milana Vinn
       Feb 12 (Reuters) - Bain Capital, Advent International
and EQT AB are among the private equity firms competing to
acquire Japanese cybersecurity firm Trend Micro  4704.T , which
has a market value of 1.32 trillion yen ($8.54 billion),
according to people familiar with the matter.
    The buyout firms have expressed interest in taking Trend
Micro private in recent weeks, the sources said, requesting
anonymity as the deliberations are confidential. KKR is also an
interested party, two of the sources said, cautioning that a
deal is not guaranteed and Trend Micro could choose to remain
independent.
    A successful takeover of Trend Micro would rank as one of
the world's biggest leveraged buyouts in recent months and
signal that private equity dealmaking is starting to bounce
back, after the pace of debt-fueled buyouts was hit hard by
interest rate hikes from central banks to fight inflation in the
aftermath of the pandemic.
    Tokyo-based Trend Micro has been exploring a sale since the
company received acquisition interest last year, Reuters
previously reported. 
    Trend Micro did not immediately respond to requests for
comment. Bain, EQT, KKR and Advent declined to comment. 
    Founded in 1988 by technology industry executives Steve
Chang, Jenny Chang and Eva Chen as an antivirus software maker,
Trend Micro has expanded its offerings to cloud computing,
network and endpoint security.
        In November, Trend Micro said third-quarter net sales
rose 6% to 68.1 billion yen for a 42% jump in operating income
to 14.8 billion yen, as its operating margin rose to 24%.
  
    The company's large U.S. rivals include Crowdstrike
 CRWD.O , Microsoft  MSFT.O , Palo Alto Networks  PANW.O  and
McAfee.
        Cybersecurity deal activity has been robust in recent
years as large corporations have ramped up spending on security
tools. Increased competition among all-in-one cyber platforms
has shaken up the industry, making some companies attractive
takeover targets for larger rivals and private equity firms. 
    Last year, Google parent Alphabet attempted to acquire Wiz
for $23 billion before the talks fizzled out. Reuters reported
in October that Advent, Bain and EQT explored a deal for another
cybersecurity firm, Rapid7.

($1 = 154.5500 yen)

 (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York; Editing by Anirban Sen
and Richard Chang)
 ((milana.vinn@thomsonreuters.com))