How much is cybersecurity firm Sophos worth?
That number is 583 pence a share for the UK company.
Add it all up, and that comes out to $3.8 billion. That's the amount an investment firm is paying to acquire Sophos.
A private equity firm called Thoma Bravo is buying Sophos, and it has more money to spend.
Reuters highlights the company's recent love of security:
"Thoma Bravo, which raised billions for its latest private equity fund this year, had been targeting the cyber security sector. Late last year, it bought Imperva and another cyber security firm called Veracode from Broadcom Inc."
Thoma Bravo also purchased a Sophos competitor, Barracuda Networks, in 2017. We will see what happens now that it owns both of them.
We've seen some interesting predictions over the last year or two about the cybersecurity market, including some analysts claiming there will be far fewer security companies going forward as many fail and some get acquired.
Is the cybersecurity space getting too big for its britches? Have valuations and VC investments grown too rich? Are there simply too many cybersecurity companies?
TechCrunch recently wrote that security may be in a bubble, but it is not about to burst. Here are the arguments the publication laid out.
True, the bubble part of the equation is building:
"The landscape of cybersecurity solutions and services is strikingly saturated. Still, this busy frontier continues to attract founders and investors alike, with 300+ new startups launching every year and VCs investing in cybersecurity at a record high of $5.3 billion in 2018. Further, many cybersecurity startups are able to raise large rounds of funding, with exceedingly high valuations, despite having little market traction."
However, the demand side of the equation is also growing and shifting:
"The global cybersecurity market is booming: Cybersecurity-related spending is on track to surpass $133 billion in 2022, and the market has grown more than 30x in 13 years. Moreover, security is often integrated into new business initiatives and used as a competitive advantage."
The idea of integrating security into new business initiatives is something we've heard a lot about from security leaders at SecureWorld conferences across North America.
This approach is a key way for cybersecurity to enable the business and to develop alliances which get security initiatives funded.
Our interview with Mike Muha, WorkForce Software CISO and CPO, comes to mind. Watch:
And in on our most recent podcast episode, Princeton University CISO David Sherry explained how security has become programmatic, which means it is discussed and considered at every initiative's start. Listen:
So on the upside, then, we appear to have the following signs:
And then there is something else, altogether.
This came up in a recent fireside chat with Dr. Larry Ponemon at SecureWorld Detroit. The founder of the Ponemon Institute showed his sense of humor while driving home a serious point about security:
"Many times you'll go in and share with the board that you need to do these things. 'Yeah,' they'll say. 'It's important, but we'll do it in like 2087.' Then when they have that breach, the Chairman of the Board will call you up and say, 'Hey, Larry, can we play golf?'"
I think you get the picture.
Ongoing attacks against organizations who have not yet prioritized security seems to be another upside for cybersecurity vendors and investors.
What other signs are you seeing that seem to indicate something about the cybersecurity market? Let us know in the comments section below.