Sophos and Secureworks® (NASDAQ:SCWX) haben heute eine endgültige Vereinbarung darüber öffentlich gemacht, dass Sophos das Cybersicherheitsunternehmen Secureworks für rund 859 Millionen US-Dollar erwirbt. Sophos wird dabei von der Software-Investmentfirma Thoma Bravo unterstützt.
Die Erfahrung von Sophos als führender Anbieter von zentral gemanagten Sicherheitsdiensten und End-to-End-Sicherheitsprodukten in Kombination mit der in die Taegis™-Plattform realisierten Cybersecurity-Expertise von Secureworks treiben die Entwicklung moderner MDR- und XDR-Lösungen für den weltweiten Kundenstamm weiter voran. Gemeinsam werden die Unternehmen mit ihrer jahrzehntelangen Erfahrung in Sachen Cybersicherheit dazu beitragen, die Widerstandsfähigkeit und Sicherheitslage globaler Organisationen jeder Größe zu stärken.
Sophos plant, die Lösungen beider Unternehmen in ein breiteres und stärkeres Sicherheitsportfolio zu integrieren. Dazu gehört, dass Sophos sein aktuelles Portfolio um weitere neue Angebote wie Erkennung von und Reaktion auf Identitätsbedrohungen (ITDR), SIEM-Funktionen der nächsten Generation, Sicherheit in der operativen Betriebstechnologie (OT) und verbesserte Priorisierung von Schwachstellenrisiken erweitert. Als zwei partnerorientierte Organisationen ermöglicht der Zusammenschluss von Sophos und Secureworks es dem kombinierten Unternehmen, seine Marktpräsenz zu erweitern und einen größeren Wert innerhalb des Channels zu schaffen.
„Secureworks bietet mit seiner XDR-Plattform Taegis eine innovative, marktführende Lösung. In Kombination mit unseren Sicherheitslösungen und unserer Branchenführerschaft im Bereich MDR werden wir unsere gemeinsame Marktposition stärken und weltweit bessere Ergebnisse für Unternehmen jeder Größe erzielen“, so Sophos-CEO Joe Levy. „Die renommierte Expertise von Secureworks im Bereich Cybersicherheit passt perfekt zu unserer Mission, Unternehmen durch die Bereitstellung leistungsstarker und intuitiver Produkte und Dienstleistungen vor Cyberkriminalität zu schützen. Diese Übernahme stellt einen bedeutenden Schritt vorwärts in unserem Engagement für den Aufbau einer sichereren digitalen Zukunft für alle dar.“
„Das Sophos-Portfolio mit führenden Endpunkt-, Cloud- und Netzwerksicherheitslösungen bietet in Kombination mit unserer XDR-gestützten, verwalteten Erkennung und Reaktion genau das, was Unternehmen suchen, um ihre Sicherheitslage zu stärken und das Blatt im Kampf gegen Cyberkriminelle zu wenden“, so Wendy Thomas, CEO bei Secureworks.
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Transaction Details
Under the terms of the agreement, Sophos intends to acquire Secureworks in an all-cash transaction valued at $859 million. Secureworks shareholders, including Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL), will receive $8.50 per share in cash. This represents a 28% premium to the unaffected 90-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP). The transaction is expected to close in early 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. Additional information regarding this announcement can be found in the Form 8-K filed by Secureworks with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Oct. 21, 2024.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal counsel to Sophos and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC., Barclays, BofA Securities, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. and UBS Investment Bank are acting as financial advisors and providing debt financing for the transaction. Piper Sandler & Company and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are acting as financial advisors to Secureworks and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is acting as legal counsel.
About Secureworks
Secureworks (NASDAQ: SCWX) is a global cybersecurity leader that secures human progress with Secureworks® Taegis™, a SaaS-based, open XDR platform built on 20+ years of real-world detection data, security operations expertise, and threat intelligence and research. Taegis is embedded in the security operations of thousands of organizations around the world who use its advanced, AI-driven capabilities to detect advanced threats, streamline and collaborate on investigations, and automate the right actions.
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Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This communication includes certain disclosures which contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including but not limited to those statements related to the merger of the wholly-owned subsidiary of Sophos, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation (“Parent”) with and into SecureWorks Corp. (the “Company”), with the Company continuing as the surviving corporation and becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (the “Merger”), including financial estimates and statements as to the expected timing, completion and effects of the Merger, including the delisting from NASDAQ and deregistration under the Exchange Act the timing of the foregoing. In most cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “confidence,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “guidance,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “outlook,” “should,” and “would,” or similar words or expressions that refer to future events or outcomes. These forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Merger, are based largely on information currently available to our management and our management’s current expectations and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although we believe our expectations are based on reasonable estimates and assumptions, they are not guarantees of performance. There is no assurance that our expectations will occur or that our estimates or assumptions will be correct, and we caution investors and all others not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
Important factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such plans, estimates or expectations include but are not limited to: (i) the completion of the Merger on the anticipated terms and timing, including obtaining regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of other conditions to the completion of the Merger; (ii) potential litigation relating to the Merger that could be instituted against the Company or its directors, managers or officers, including the effects of any outcomes related thereto; (iii) the risk that disruptions from the Merger (including the ability of certain customers to terminate or amend contracts upon a change of control) will harm the Company’s business, including current plans and operations, including during the pendency of the Merger; (iv) the ability of the Company to retain and hire key personnel, including those with extensive information security expertise; (v) the diversion of management’s time and attention from ordinary course business operations to completion of the proposed transaction and integration matters; (vi) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the Merger; (vii) legislative, regulatory and economic developments; (viii) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the Merger that could affect the Company’s financial performance; (ix) certain restrictions during the pendency of the Merger that may impact the Company’s ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; (x) unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including but not limited to acts of terrorism, outbreaks of war or hostilities or the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health issues, as well as management’s response to any of the aforementioned factors; (xi) the impact of inflation, rising interest rates, and global conflicts, including disruptions in European economies as a result of the Ukrainian/Russian conflict and the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, the relationship between China and Taiwan and ongoing trade disputes between the United States and China; (xii) the possibility that the Merger may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; (xiii) the ability to obtain the necessary financing arrangements set forth in the commitment letter received in connection with the Merger; (xiv) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Merger, including in circumstances requiring the Company to pay a termination fee; (xv) the risk that the Company’s stock price may decline significantly if the Merger is not consummated; (xvi) there may be liabilities that are not known, probable or estimable at this time or unexpected costs, charges or expenses; (xvii) those risks and uncertainties set forth under the headings “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as such risk factors may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) from time to time, which are available via the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov; and (xviii) those risks that will be described in the information statement that will be filed with the SEC and available from the sources indicated below.
These risks, as well as other risks associated with the Merger, will be more fully discussed in the information statement that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the Merger. There can be no assurance that the Merger will be completed, or if it is completed, that it will close within the anticipated time period. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. The Company does not undertake to update, and expressly disclaims any obligation to update, any of its forward-looking statements, whether resulting from circumstances or events that arise after the date the statements are made, new information, or otherwise. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from what we may have expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We caution that you should not place undue reliance on any of our forward-looking statements. You should specifically consider the factors identified in this communication that could cause actual results to differ. Furthermore, new risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict those events or how they may affect the Company.
Important Additional Information and Where to Find It
This communication is being made in connection with the pending Merger. The Company plans to file an information statement on Schedule 14C for its stockholders with respect to the Merger. The information statement will be mailed to stockholders of the Company. This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. STOCKHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE INFORMATION STATEMENT AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT ARE FILED OR WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE MERGER. Stockholders will be able to obtain, free of charge, copies of such documents filed by the Company when filed with the SEC in connection with the Merger at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov). In addition, the Company’s stockholders will be able to obtain, free of charge, copies of such documents filed by the Company at the Company’s website (investors.secureworks.com) or by e-mailing the Company’s Investor Relations department at investorrelations@secureworks.com. Alternatively, these documents, when available, can be obtained free of charge from the Company upon written request by mail to SecureWorks Corp., Investor Relations, One Concourse Parkway NE, Suite 500, Atlanta, Georgia 30328.