KKR has acquired Barracuda Networks from private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, though the deal's valuation was roughly $3.8 billion, according to Silicon Valley Business Journal.
This is technology M&A deal number 372 that MSSP Alert and sister site ChannelE2E have covered so far in 2022.
Barracuda Security Revenues, MSP Partner Focus
Barracuda generates more than $500 million in annual revenue, the buyer indicated. That compares to $352.6 million back in 2017, according to historic data from Barracuda. Still, Barracuda's exact annual revenue and EBITDA profit figures are not currently disclosed.
Rumors about Barracuda being up for sale have hit MSSP Alert's email inbox multiple times in recent weeks. In today's deal announcement, neither KKR nor Barracuda mentioned Barracuda's long-established MSP partner strategy. But MSPs have been a top go-to-market channel for Barracuda since about 2016 or so.
More recently, key Barracuda moves include buying Skout Cybersecurity for MSP-focused security operations center capabilities. That deal surfaced in July 2021.
Meanwhile, KKR has expansive experience in the cybersecurity and MSSP markets. Previous investments included Ping, Cylance, DarkTrace, ForgeRock, NetSPI and Optiv, among others, the investor notes.
KKR Acquires Barracuda: Executive Perspectives
Multiple KKR, Barracuda and Thoma Bravo sources offered prepared statements on the deal.
Hatem Naguib, CEO of Barracuda, said:
“We believe that with the support of KKR, we will continue to invest in growth and foster a culture that gives our team the resources and inspiration to continue to create and deliver the next generation of leading cybersecurity solutions for our customers and partners,. We are very appreciative of Thoma Bravo’s support and very excited to be working with KKR on this next phase of Barracuda’s journey.”
Added John Park, head of Americas Technology Private Equity at KKR:
“We continue to see cybersecurity as a highly attractive sector and are excited to back a clear leader in the space. Given its proven track record of growth and innovation, we believe that Barracuda has the right team and model to capture business in this growing market.”
Noted Bradley Brown, managing director at KKR:
“Barracuda has built an impressive portfolio of solutions that are helping SMEs around the world protect their data and address critical security challenges. We see a tremendous opportunity for long-term growth as these businesses continue to invest more in cybersecurity and we look forward to helping Barracuda scale and deliver next generation products that meet this growing need.”
Observed Seth Boro, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo:
“Over the course of Thoma Bravo’s four-year partnership, Barracuda has solidified its position as an industry leader in cloud-first cybersecurity software. “From multiple acquisitions to backend improvements, Barracuda has delivered tremendous value to its customers and partners.”
Concluded Chip Virnig, a partner at Thoma Bravo:
“We are proud to have supported Barracuda to innovate and grow its security solutions portfolio, expand its customer base and achieve considerable operational improvements and revenue growth. We look forward to watching Barracuda’s continued success.”
The Barracuda acquisition is expected to close by the end of 2022, KKR indicated.
