Investment firm KKR buys Barracuda Networks

Investment firm KKR has acquired Barracuda Networks from private equity firm Thoma Bravo.

Barracuda makes security products that cover email protection, application security, network security and data. The company’s preferred prey is small to medium businesses, and it has more than 200,000 of them on the hook.

Barracuda changed hands in 2017 when Thoma Bravo took it private in a $1.6 billion deal. At the time, Barracuda’s annual revenue was around $400 million.

KKR’s announcement of the acquisition doesn’t reveal how much it’s paying, but does state that Barracuda’s revenue has grown to “over $500 million” a year under Thoma Bravo’s tender care. Newswire Reuters reports $4 billion will change hands.

The investment firm stated it will fund expansion into managed detection and response, extended detection and response, and secure access service edge (SASE) technology.

Analyst firm Gartner recently predicted security spend will grow by ten percent each year until 2025, so Barracuda certainly has room to grow.

All parties to the transaction have declared themselves pleased with the new state of affairs.

Thoma Bravo execs patted themselves on the back for helping Barracuda to grow. KKR’s managing director Bradley Brown said the firm sees “a tremendous opportunity for long-term growth” and looks forward to “helping Barracuda scale and deliver next generation products that meet this growing need.”

And Barracuda CEO Hatem Naguib thanked Thoma Bravo for all its help, before adding: “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.” ®

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