Thoma Bravo Acquires Cybersecurity Co Imperva

Cybersecurity company Imperva announced that it has agreed to be acquired by private equity technology investment firm Thoma Bravo. After the close of the deal, Imperva will operate as a privately-held company at its corporate headquarters in Redwood Shores, California, and will continue being led by its current executive team.

“Thoma Bravo has an excellent track record of supporting and adding value to leading cybersecurity companies, and we are delighted to bring on a partner with their caliber of strategic expertise,” said Chris Hylen, president and CEO of Imperva, in a press release. “This transaction will provide immediate and substantial value to Imperva stockholders. The company will have greater flexibility to focus on executing our long-term strategy. We are excited to begin our partnership with Thoma Bravo.”

Imperva’s Board of Directors unanimously approved the agreement and believes the transaction — valued at approximately $2.1 billion — will maximize stockholder value.

“Thoma Bravo has long admired Imperva’s innovative products and strong market position,” said Seth Boro, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo. “As a leading company that protects data and applications, regardless of whether they live in the cloud, on-premise or in a hybrid environment, Imperva is ahead of the curve from the rest of the cybersecurity industry, and we’re thrilled with this exciting partnership.”

Chip Virnig, a Partner at Thoma Bravo, said, “Digital transformations are occurring in virtually every industry and at accelerating speeds. Software applications and data are at the epicenter of this new digital economy and are increasingly under cyberattack. We believe Imperva’s market-leading technology will continue to play a huge role in protecting the broader digital economy. Our expertise and track record investing in cybersecurity fits squarely with Imperva’s long-term roadmap, and we look forward to advancing the company’s market position in this rapidly-growing security segment.”

The deal is expected to close late in the fourth quarter of 2018 or early in the first quarter of 2019.