Security News > 2021 > April > Security vendor Proofpoint snapped up by private equity for $12.3bn but still in search of profit

Proofpoint has become the latest sizable tech vendor to succumb to private equity after Thoma Bravo succeeded in its $12.3bn grasp for the infosec giant.

CEO Gary Steele said now was the time for Proofpoint, which IPOed in 2012, to return to private ownership.

35bn private equity firm Thoma Bravo has form when it comes to slurping computer security vendors.

In February 2020, it bought British encryption and antivirus outfit Sophos for £3bn. It also owned certificate specialist Entrust; it also has a stake in security software firm McAfee; and equity in identity and access management vendor SailPoint.

Eric Hahn, former Netscape CTO, founded Proofpoint in June 2002, and helped launch the company the following year, having raised $7m in a Series A funding round.

In 2012, the company's IPO raised more than $80m. In its first-quarter results for 2021, Proofpoint announced revenue of $287.8m, up 15 per cent on the first quarter of 2020.

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