CyberArk to Acquire Venafi for $1.54 Billion, Expanding Machine Identity Management Capabilities

CyberArk, a leading information security services provider, has announced plans to acquire cybersecurity firm Venafi from private equity firm Thoma Bravo in a deal valued at around $1.54 billion. The acquisition will be financed through a combination of $1 billion in cash and approximately $540 million in stock, with the deal expected to close in the second half of 2024.

The transaction comes amid increasing digital safety threats and a growing trend of firms strengthening their enterprise security products. CyberArk CEO Matt Cohen emphasized that the acquisition will expand the company’s ability to secure machine identities in a cloud-first, AI-driven, post-quantum world.

The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to add around $150 million in annual recurring revenue to CyberArk’s financials. It will also allow Venafi to expand CyberArk’s total addressable market by nearly $10 billion to $60 billion, primarily due to Venafi’s strong presence in cloud security.

Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm, made a growth investment in Venafi in December 2020, valuing the company at $1.15 billion at the time. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to CyberArk’s margins.

CyberArk, founded in 1999 and headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts, has a history of making strategic acquisitions to expand its capabilities. The company went public in 2014 and has since acquired several security firms, including Viewfinity, Conjur, Vaultive, and Idaptive.

The acquisition of Venafi, a leader in machine identity management, represents a significant step forward for CyberArk in strengthening its position in the rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape. Venafi, based in Salt Lake City, has been recognized for its rapid growth, ranking on Inc. Magazine’s list of the fastest-growing private companies in the Rocky Mountain region in 2024.

Source – Channel News Asia