Thoma Bravo's Proofpoint in talks to buy cybersecurity firm Varonis, source says

Sept 2 — Thoma Bravo-owned Proofpoint is in discussions to acquire ​cybersecurity firm Varonis Systems, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Shares of ‌Varonis, which has a market value of about $5 billion, closed up ⁠over 10%.

Private equity firm ​Thoma Bravo declined a ⁠request for comment, while Proofpoint and Varonis did ‌not immediately respond.

Miami-based ‌Varonis offers cybersecurity services, including data classification ⁠on cloud storage systems ⁠and employee behavior tracking, employing over 2,400 people across 14 global offices.

Its shares jumped about 30% following media reports in June that the firm was weighing a sale after fielding takeover interest ‌from private equity firms.

Thoma Bravo ​in 2021 agreed to acquire Proofpoint, which sells software that helps companies guard against cyberattacks, valuing the firm at about $12.3 billion in the take-private deal.

A takeover of Varonis would bring two complementary data security businesses together, allowing Proofpoint to strengthen ​its offerings around protecting sensitive corporate information and ‌managing access to ‌it.

Deals ⁠in the cybersecurity space have slowed of late, in parallel with other software firms, as the industry is among those perceived as vulnerable to a ‌shakeout by rapid advances ​in AI technology.

(Reporting by ‌Milana Vinn in ⁠New York, ​Utkarsh Shetti and Anzar Mehraj in Bengaluru; Editing by ​Joyjeet Das)

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