Thoma Bravo Acquiring Darktrace

Thoma Bravo is mulling acquiring the British cybersecurity firm Darktrace.

Darktrace said in a regulatory filing that talks have taken place over a possible deal and that an offer may follow.

Darktrace sells a cybersecurity platform that uses AI to identify threats across companies’ cloud environments, employee devices, and other systems. It uses software sensors to understand what tasks each system performs as part of a company’s routine day-to-day business activity.

Darktrace’s AI models identify breaches by looking for anomalous actions that differ from the usual day-to-day activity mapped out by its sensors.

Once identifying the threat, Darktrace’s platform isolates the suspect system and limits it to the normal day-to-day tasks it usually performs. This tactic blocks malicious activity while minimizing business disruptions.

Darktrace went public via an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange in April 2021 and its value soared over the next three months. However, the stock has since faded and is now trading below its IPO price, despite jumping 17% on today’s news of Thoma Bravo’s interest.

Thoma Bravo has spent billions of dollars on acquisitions this year, buying up public firms that it believes could be undervalued given the current economic climate.

Below are the recent acquisitions of Thoma bravo

• Earlier this month, Deal of $2.8 billion to acquire Ping Identity Holding Corp.
• In April it spent $6.9 billion to buy cybersecurity firm SailPoint Technologies Holdings Inc.
• In May it spent $10.7 billion to acquire Anaplan Inc., which sells business planning software