Sophos buys Secureworks for $859 million to beef up cybersecurity portfolio

(Reuters) - Thoma Bravo-backed cybersecurity firm Sophos said on Monday it would acquire Secureworks from Dell Technologies for $859 million in cash to strengthen its product lineup for enterprise customers.

 

Secureworks shareholders, including Dell, will receive $8.50 per share. The stock fell 1.5% to $8.35 in early trading.

 

Founded in 1998, Secureworks’ flagship cloud-based platform Taegis helps detect advanced threats, according to its website.

 

But the company has struggled to differentiate its products  in its race with bigger cybersecurity providers. It reported a quarterly loss of 17 cents per share in the quarter ended July 31.

 

Its owner Dell had investment bankers from Morgan Stanley and Piper Sandler assess takeover interest from potential buyers, including private equity firms, after earlier unsuccessful sale attempts, Reuters had reported.

Dell acquired Secureworks for $612 million in 2011 before listing its shares through an initial public offering in New York in 2016. It earlier explored a sale of Secureworks in 2019.

 

Thoma Bravo, meanwhile, is building a portfolio of cybersecurity assets and had acquired UK’s Darktrace for around $5.3 billion earlier this year.

 

The transaction is expected to close in early 2025.

 

(Reporting by Rishi Kant in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)