04 Mar Cybersecurity M&A Report, Vol. 2, No. 1: Billion Dollar Deals Top Mergers And Acquisitions Activity In Q1 2018
General Dynamics, Thoma Bravo, and Iron Mountain close the biggest deals in the latest quarter
Sausalito, Calif. – Apr. 8, 2018
Mergers and acquisitions in the cybersecurity space picked back up where they left off at the end of 2017. The market is simultaneously expanding with VC investments into startups, and consolidating with large tech vendors acquiring pure-play cybersecurity companies. Our latest diary details the activity.
March
Mar. 29. Opaq Networks, a network security cloud company, announces acquisition of FourV Systems, maker of GreySpark, which provides business intelligence for managing security operations. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Mar. 29. CryptoGlobal Corp. announces completion of acquisition of Blockchain Dynamics. (See March 1.)
Mar. 28. VMware announces acquisition of E8 Security, a behavior analytics company. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Mar. 28. CACI International withdraws $7.2 billion offer to acquire CSRA, opening the door for aerospace and defense contractor General Dynamics to acquire CSRA for $9.6 billion. (See February 12.)
Mar. 27. Palo Alto Networks announces completion of $300 million acquisition of Evident.io. (See March 14.)
Mar. 20. Netanium, which focuses on SIEM, firewall, and endpoint solutions, and Atlantic Data Security, a cybersecurity support and services company, announce agreement to merge. Headquarters of new company will be in East Hartford, Conn., with satellite offices in Lowell, Mass.; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Charlotte, N.C.
Mar. 15. Critical Start, the largest cybersecurity company in Texas, announces definitive agreement to acquire Advanced Threat Analytics, maker of a security alerts orchestration platform, for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock.
Mar. 14. Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity company, announces definitive agreement to acquire Evident.io, a provider of cloud services infrastructure protection, for $300 million in cash.
Mar. 13. Duff & Phelps Corp., a valuation and corporate finance adviser, announces agreement with Corporate Risk Holdings to acquire corporate investigations and risk consulting firm Kroll Inc. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Mar. 13. Spherix Incorporated, a technology development company, announces definitive purchase agreement to acquire DatChat, a privately held company focused on encrypted communication, Internet security and Digital Rights Management. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Mar. 12. President Donald J. Trump blocks $117 billion bid by Broadcom to acquire chip-maker Qualcomm citing national security concerns.
Mar. 12. CyberArk, a privileged account security provider, announces acquisition of certain assets of Vaultive, a cloud security company. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Mar. 9. Telia Company, an information and communication technology business, acquires Cloud Solutions CS Oy, a provider of cloud services, cyber and data security, and data center operation support. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Mar. 8. McAfee, a cybersecurity company, announces close of deal to acquire TunnelBear, a provider of VPN services. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Mar. 7. Falanx, a UK security and cyberdefense company, announces it has raised £3.2 million to acquire First Base, a cybersecurity testing and consulting company.
Mar. 7. Rivetz, a trusted computing and embedded cybersecurity company, announces acquisition of CyberDeadbolt, maker of a platform that incorporates human factors to authenticate and authorize the exchange of sensitive information. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Mar. 6. Jungle Disk, maker of a security suite for small businesses, announces acquisition of TeamPassword, a password manager for teams. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Mar. 1. Akamai Technologies reveals in filing with US Security and Exchange Commission it paid $380 million in 2017 for acquisition of Soasta and Nominnum. Acquisitions are designed to improve Akamai’s web performance and cybersecurity capabilities.
Mar. 1. CryptoGlobal Corp. announces agreement to acquire Blockchain Dynamics, a provider of security, custodial services, trading, and staking for cryptocurrencies, in a stock swap deal worth $28 million.
February
Feb. 28. Splunk, a machine learning analytics company, announces a definitive agreement to acquire Phantom Cyber Corporation, a security orchestration, automation and response provider, for $350 million in cash and stock.
Feb. 26. An undisclosed syndicate of private equity firms acquires PhishMe, a cybersecurity training company, which rebrands itself as Cofense. Syndicate pegs PhishMe’s value at $400 million.
Feb. 22. Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA acquires VioPoint, a cybersecurity consulting firm. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Feb. 20. Fulcrum IT Services, a portfolio company of Boyne Capital, announces acquisition of the PTR group, a provider of innovative software engineering, cybersecurity, real-time, and embedded systems. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Feb. 15. Oracle Corp. announces intent to acquire Zenedge, a cybersecurity company that helps protect cloud-based critical IT systems. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Feb. 15. RSM, a professional services company, announces acquisition of SecureState, a global management consulting firm focused on information security. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Feb. 15. KPMG, a global business advisory firm, acquires Cyberinc, an identity and access management company. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Feb. 14. VMware acquires CloudCoreo, maker of a product that monitors cloud infrastructure stacks for errors, misconfigurations, and public cloud cybersecurity risks. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Feb. 13. Private equity firm Thoma Bravo completes $1.6 billion acquisition of Barracuda Networks, a cyber defense solutions company.
Feb. 13. Carbonite, a data backup and recovery company, announces acquisition of Mozy, a provider of cloud-based secure backup services, for $145.8 million in cash.
Feb. 13. Magal Security Systems acquires 55 percent interest in BAZ, a video surveillance company based in Israel. BAZ develops and markets security and site management products as well as cybersecurity systems for airports, seaports, borders, military bases, government facilities, and secure facilities in more than 80 countries. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed, but Magal says it has an option to purchase the remaining shares of BAZ.
Feb. 12. General Dynamics agrees to buy all outstanding shares of CSRA for $9.6 billion and the assumption of $2.8 billion in debt. General Dynamics is a global aerospace and defense company that offers products and services in business aviation, combat vehicles, weapon systems and munitions, C4ISR and IT solutions, and shipbuilding. CSRA’s solutions are organized into six service areas: cyber, data and analytics, digital platforms, digital services, enterprise business services, and intelligent business process services.
Feb. 8. RSE Ventures, a venture capital company whose founders include Stephen M. Ross, the owner of the Miami Dolphins NFL football team, acquires Oxford Solutions, an Irish cybersecurity company, for $30 million. Oxford will be rebranded as Skout Secure intelligence.
Feb. 7. J2 Global, a technology portfolio company, announces intent to acquire Vipre Security. Vipre is expected to merge with another J2 holding, FuseMail. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Feb. 6. Proofpoint, a provider of cloud-based email security, e-discovery and compliance solutions, acquires Wombat Security Technologies, a cybersecurity training company, for $225 million.
Feb. 1. Bomgar, an Atlanta-based provider of secure access solutions, announces acquisition of Lieberman software, a maker of privileged identity and credential management software. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
January
Jan. 31. On Assignment, a professional staffing firm, acquires for $750 million ECS Federal, a provider of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing, DevOps, IT modernization, and advanced science and engineering services to commercial and government enterprises.
Jan. 31. RSM US, a national accounting firm, announces acquisition of SecureState, a global management consulting firm focused on information security. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 30. GitLab, which helps organizations manage their software development lifecycle, announces acquisition of Gemnasium, a service that alerts developers of known security vulnerabilities in open source libraries and helps them resolve those issues. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 29. Relx Group, formerly Reed Elsevier, acquires for £580 million (about $817 million) ThreatMetrix, which offers malware detection and identification authentication services
Jan. 29. Data443 Risk Mitigation announces acquisition of ClassiDocs, maker of a platform for data classification, governance and GDPR compliance. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 26. SharedLabs, a technology services company, announces agreement to acquire, for an undisclosed sum, all the outstanding shares of ExoIS, which offers solutions in IoT, blockchain, cybersecurity, mobility, DevOps, and the Cloud.
Jan. 24. Cisco Systems announces plans to acquire Skyport Systems, maker of an appliance in which organizations can securely run their most sensitive applications. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 24. Amazon Web Services announces acquisition of Sqrrl, a provider of threat hunting services. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 24. SageNet, a managed IT services and cybersecurity provider, acquires Aware Software, a managed wireless infrastructure and security company. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 23. Sumo Logic, maker of a cloud-native, machine data analytics platform, acquires FactorChain, developer of a security investigations platform. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 22. Digi International, a provider of IoT connectivity products and services, acquires Accelerated Concepts, a provider of secure, enterprise grade, cellular networking equipment, for $17 million, plus an additional payout based on topline performance.
Jan. 18. Watchguard announces acquisition of Percipient Networks, a provider of DNS protection solutions. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 18. SCE Group announces acquisition of Cayden Security, a provider of consulting and turn-key managed security assessment services for third-party risk and compliance readiness, as well as resale of cybersecurity products. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 18. One Identity, an identity and access management company, acquires Balabit, a provider of privileged account protection solutions. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 16. Allot Communications, a provider of security services for Communication Service Providers, announces definitive agreement to acquire Netonomy, a developer of cybersecurity software for the connected home. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 12. ITC Secure, a managed IT security provider, announces acquisition of the cyber security practice of the Good Governance Group and Kinnevik. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 12. Threatcare, an Austin, Texas, maker of a proactive cyber defense platform, announces acquisition of Savage Security, a Knoxville, Tenn. provider of cybersecurity services and applied research. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 11. FireEye, a threat intelligence and security consulting company, acquires X15 Software, maker of a big data security platform, for $15 million in equity and $5 million in cash.
Jan. 11. Connexion, an Australian smart car software app developer and IoT services providers, acquires Security Shift Group, which provides a range of services including cybersecurity; cloud; IT governance, risk and compliance; and end-to-end design, development, deployment and operations services. Deal, which is made up of an investment in SSG by Connexion and issuance of new Connexion shares, is worth an estimated A$5 million.
Jan. 10. Iron Mountain closes $1.34 billion deal to acquire US operations of IO Data Centers, a colocation data center services provider. Under the agreement, Iron Mountain now owns the land and buildings of data centers in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Ariz.; Edison, N.J.; and Columbus, Ohio.
Jan. 9. Cyberproof, a subsidiary of UST Global, announces acquisition of Israel-based Bisec, a maker of automated information security technologies, for about $5.8 million.
Jan. 8. Cyxtera Technologies announces plans to acquire Immunity, a provider of offense-oriented systems, vulnerability research, exploit development, and penetration testing services. Cyxtera was formed last year following the merger of CenturyLink’s data center business with Medina Capital’s security and data analytics subsidiaries. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 8. Sopra Steria, a French company focusing on digital transformation, announces intent to purchase 100 percent of outstanding shares of Bluecarat, a German business offering IT consulting, Agile, cybersecurity and API management services. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 5. Barracuda Networks acquires Phishline, an SaaS platform for social engineering simulation and training. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 5. Verizon acquires Niddel, maker of a threat-hunting solution using machine learning. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 4. McAfee completes acquisition of cloud security provider Skyhigh Networks. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 4. The UK subsidiary of PCM announces acquisition of Provista Technology Services and its subsidiary, Provista UK, a multi-vendor provider of technology solutions, including cloud networking, cloud video, hyperconvergence, security, collaboration, secure wireless and IP LAN, WAN, and data center networks. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan. 3. KPMG buys identity and access management business of Cybernic for $32.71 million.
Jan. 2. US government blocks Ant Financial $1.2 billion acquisition of MoneyGram citing national security concerns.
Jan. 2. Securitas AB, a security services, monitoring, consulting, and investigation group based in Stockholm, Sweden, acquires Süddeutsche Bewachung, a mobile and remote guarding provider based in Mannheim, Germany. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
Jan 2. Atos announces completion of acquisition of Siemens’ subsidiary Convergence Creators Holding, a maker of software for communication networks and enterprise cybersecurity. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
John P. Mello, Jr. is a freelance writer specializing in business and technology subjects, including consumer electronics, business computing and cyber security.
