KKR to acquire cyber security company Barracuda Networks

Global investment firm KKR is set to acquire cloud security company Barracuda Networks from software investment firm Thoma Bravo.

Although the value of the deal hasn’t been disclosed, it has been estimated to be around $4 billion, according to Reuters.

Barracuda offers a suite of cyber security products across email protection, network security, and data protection that can be deployed and managed in the cloud and hybrid environments. It focuses on serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and has over 200,000 customers worldwide.

Under Thoma Bravo’s ownership, Barracuda expanded and enhanced its products and executed various strategic acquisitions. It also generates over $500 million in annual revenue.

KKR is set to further accelerate the company’s growth and support its expansion in key areas, like managed detection and response, extended detection and response, and secure access service edge technology.

“We believe that with the support of KKR, we will continue to invest in growth and foster a culture that gives our team the resources and inspiration to continue to create and deliver the next generation of leading cyber security solutions for our customers and partners,” said Hatem Naguib, CEO of Barracuda. “We are very appreciative of Thoma Bravo’s support and very excited to be working with KKR on this next phase of Barracuda’s journey.”

KKR has invested in other cyber security firms too, including DarkTrace, Cylance, and Ping. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.

“Barracuda has built an impressive portfolio of solutions that are helping SMEs around the world protect their data and address critical security challenges,” said Bradley Brown, managing director at KKR. ”We see a tremendous opportunity for long-term growth as these businesses continue to invest more in cybersecurity and we look forward to helping Barracuda scale and deliver next-generation products that meet this growing need.”

This comes after Thoma Bravo acquired digital identity management firm SailPoint for $6.9 billion (£5.3 billion) earlier this week. The all-cash transaction will see SailPoint become a privately held company. This will see the company being taken off the public market, only after it raised $240 million to IPO on the New York Stock Exchange five years ago.