Permira takes Mimecast private in £4.4bn all-cash deal
Shares in Mimecast jumped more than 6 per cent in pre-market trading on the news that the British cybersecurity firm is being targeted by private equity firm Permira in a take-private deal valued at $5.8bn (£4.4bn).
In the latest deal in what has been a very busy year for private equity interest in the tech sector, Permira has tabled an offer of $80 per share, which represents a premium of around 6.7 per cent on Mimecast’s closing price on Monday.
London-headquartered Mimecast, which is listed on the Nasdaq, has seen its share price rise almost a third over the last year as the shift to home working drove up demand for cyber services – and in particular, its focus on email security.
Peter Bauer, chairman and CEO of Mimecast said the deal was a “great outcome for our company and our shareholders.”
The deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2022, includes a “go shop” period ending January 6, during which Mimecast and its advisers can look around for rival acquisition proposals.
It comes hot on the heels of a larger deal last month, in which a consortium of investors led by Permira and Advent International, took cybersecurity firm McAfee private in a $14bn deal.
“We have long admired Mimecast, its management team and its talented employees,” said Permira Partners, Michail Zekkos and Ryan Lanpher in a joint statement.
“Email is the leading vector for cyberattacks, and phishing and impersonation attempts are continuously evolving. This means there has never been more urgency or need for organisations to protect their critical data and infrastructure.
“We look forward to leveraging our experience scaling global technology businesses as we partner with Peter and team on their next phase of growth.”