Private investment firm Bain Capital has announced it is to acquire security vendor Blue Coat Systems in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.4 billion.
Blue Coat were acquired by investors Thoma Bravo for $1.3 billion in 2011, and completed the acquisition of Norman Shark in 2013. The transaction is expected to close during the first half of 2015.
Gregory S. Clark, chief executive officer, Blue Coat Systems, said: “The world’s most trusted brands use Blue Coat, and the acquisition by Bain Capital sets us on the trajectory to further grow our portfolio, better serve our customers and help us prepare to return to the public markets.
“Bain Capital has a long history of accelerating growth, and I look forward to partnering with them in our journey to be one of the top performing security companies in the world.”
David Humphrey, a managing director at Bain Capital, said: “We are excited by the opportunity to work with Blue Coat’s world-class management team to grow the business organically and through acquisitions, and to ultimately return the company to the public markets.
“We are very impressed with the profitable growth the company has demonstrated and believe strongly in the future growth of the cyber security market and Blue Coat’s position in this important sector.”
Seth Boro, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo, said: “We are extremely proud of our partnership with Blue Coat, which has achieved substantial growth since going private in 2012, while positioning itself as a leading next generation security company. We look forward to watching Blue Coat continue to grow with its new investment partner.”
