Thales announced on July 25 it reached an agreement to acquire Imperva, a US-based data and application cybersecurity company.
Thales, who will acquire Imperva from Thoma Bravo, is projected to generate revenues exceeding €2.4 billion. The transaction, based on a $3.6 billion enterprise value, is expected to deliver significant value to Thales shareholders, including $110 million in run-rate cost and revenue synergies, enhanced financial profile of the DIS segment, and substantial medium-term adjusted EPS accretion. According to a press release, the integration of Imperva into Thales will greatly expand the company's market presence in the fast-growing sector.
“Today’s announcement represents an exciting new chapter for Imperva, one that will further our mission to help organizations protect data and all paths to it, bring better protection and strategic value to our customers and partners, and create more opportunities for our team members," Pam Murphy, chief executive officer of Imperva, said in a press release.
"We admire Thales’ vision and culture, and believe that, together, we can deliver greater product innovation and efficiency through disruptive solutions, while helping to simplify the greatest security challenges facing organizations today: protecting digital identities, applications, APIs, and data in any environment, and any industry.”
Anticipated to close by early 2024, the acquisition is subject to customary anti-trust and regulatory approvals. As part of the integration, new financial targets for Thales' Digital Identity and Security (DIS) activity are set, aiming for organic sales growth of +6% to +7% from 2024 to 2027, with the EBIT margin reaching 16.5% by 2027 according to a press release.
“The acquisition of Imperva marks a major milestone in Thales’ cybersecurity strategy. With this acquisition, we are seizing a unique opportunity to accelerate our cybersecurity capabilities and are taking an important step towards our ambition to build a world-class global cybersecurity integrated player, providing a comprehensive portfolio of products and services," Patrice Caine, Thales chairman and chief executive officer, said according to a press release.
"We have tremendous respect for Imperva’s innovative application and data security offerings. Imperva and Thales share the same vision and the same DNA. We are thrilled to enter the next phase of our growth together. We look forward to welcoming Imperva to Thales to further enhance our cybersecurity solutions, and help customers address their most important digital security challenges,” Caine said.
“Imperva is a leading force in cybersecurity with an impressive track record of providing cutting-edge security solutions and protecting customers through all stages of their digital transformation, from the application level down to the data level," Seth Boro, managing partner at Thoma Bravo, said in a press release.
"Over the course of our more than four years of partnership, Imperva further differentiated itself in the competitive cybersecurity market through accelerated growth and innovation and with its unique approach to end-to-end application and data security," he said. "During this time, the company successfully executed three acquisitions, which strengthened its product offerings and capabilities to better protect clients’ critical data and applications. We are proud of what we built through our partnership with Pam Murphy and the Imperva team, and look forward to watching the company’s continued success as part of Thales’ innovative and diverse security portfolio.”