Not just Tim for kkr. The fund that is negotiating with Telecom in view of a possible takeover bid on 100% of the Italian telephone company also has another prey in its sights. It's about Barracuda Networks, a California-based cybersecurity company owned by private equity group Thoma Bravo.
Kkr confirmed on Tuesday in a note plans to acquire the American firm, but did not provide any financial details on the deal. According to unnamed sources cited by the Reuters news agency, Barracuda Networks' valuation may be wandering around $4 billionincluding debt. The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of 2022.
What does Barracuda do
Founded in 2003, the company manages the security of its subscriber data in the cloud, providing protection at many levels: email, software, cloud, networks and more. Thoma Bravo took over Barracuda in 2017: since then, the company has grown to generate annual revenues of more than half a billion dollars.
The boom in computer security
In recent months, the market's attention to the cybersecurity sector has increased, increasingly central to companies since the pandemic has made remote work soar. The war between Russia and UkraineFurthermore, it has further raised the alarm level in the field of cybersecurity, forcing companies to further increase investments.
Kkr's activities in cybersecurity
Reuters had written in February that Kkr was considering the possibility of selling or listing its subsidiary on the Stock Exchange Optiv Security Inc, another US cybersecurity company whose valuation exceeds three billion dollars (again including debt).
Over time, KKR - which manages assets worth a total of approximately 471 billion dollars - has also invested in other IT security companies: among the most important names are ForgeRock, Ping, Cylance and DarkTrace.
