Sophos鈥� board of directors intends to vote unanimously to approve the deal, according to a from the company. Thoma Bravo, which has offices in Chicago and San Francisco, will pay $7.40 per share for the company.

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Sophos, which is traded on the , went public in 2015 with a valuation of $1.6 billion at the time of its IPO. The company鈥檚 products defend against malware, data leakage and spam.

鈥淪ophos is actively driving the transition in next-generation cybersecurity solutions, leveraging advanced capabilities in cloud, machine learning, APIs, automation, managed threat response, and more,鈥� Sophos CEO said in a statement. 鈥淲e continue to execute a highly-effective and differentiated strategy, and we see this offer as a compelling validation of Sophos, its position in the industry, and its progress.鈥�

Private equity firms often step in and acquire companies to streamline operations and turn the ship around into a more profitable enterprise. In the case of Sophos, the firm鈥檚 is slow and the company is only marginally profitable. That said, its operations generate lots of cash, which could give Thoma Bravo the sort of maneuverability to shake up the company鈥檚 growth while not over-burdening the company with debt.

Thoma Bravo has acquired more than 200 software and tech companies, according to the statement. The firm has also invested in companies including and .

Sophos has at least 13 companies, according to 附近上门, with its most recent acquisition being y in June. Although the company went public in 2015, raising $125 million with its IPO, it鈥檚 been around since 1985.

And this isn鈥檛 Sophos鈥� first rodeo when it comes to private equity. acquired a 70 percent interest in the company for $580 million in 2010, according to the , valuing Sophos at $830 million.

Both the public and private markets do have an appetite for cybersecurity companies– went public in June and its shares have soared since then.

Some recent late-stage cyber security rounds include F last month.

With investors putting capital into high-growth private cybersecurity companies and public investors cheering the flotation of Crowdstrike, it looks like a hot time for startups focused on securing our increasingly digital world.

Illustration Credit: aa