IT security and data protection firm Sophos has sold a majority stake to private equity firm Apax Partners in a deal that values the company at $830 million (£546.6m).
IT security and data protection firm Sophos has sold a majority stake to private equity firm Apax Partners in a deal that values the company at $830 million (£546.6m).
The founders of Sophos, Jan Hruska and Peter Lammer, will retain a significant minority shareholding. Mid-market PE firm TA Associates, a minority shareholder in Sophos since 2002, will sell its full stake to Apax.
Sophos, which is based in Oxfordshire, provides protection against complex threats and data loss to more than 100 million users in 150 countries. Its customers include Cisco, Marks & Spencer, Heinz and Harvard University. For the year ending March 2010 it generated revenue of $260 million, up 22 per cent on 2009.
Steve Munford, CEO of Sophos, says: ‘Over the past three years, Sophos has prospered operationally and financially, growing our revenues at a 27 per cent cumulative annual growth rate and generating strong cash flow.’
