BNR – French multinational company, Thales, stated on Tuesday that it will purchase the American cybersecurity firm Imperva. The agreement values $3.6bln, with Thales expanding from an old defence company to cybersecurity protection.
The French company will purchase Imperva from the programme business firm Thoma Bravo. Thales said that the agreement would lead to a medium-term improvement in revenue per stock. Furthermore, it will add nearly $500mln of earnings.
The share price of Imperva, the biggest electronic defence producer in Europe, dropped by almost 1.5 per cent in early trading. The company also manufactures civilian jet parts and cybersecurity systems.
“This really changes our scale in civil cybersecurity,” Thales Chief Executive Patrice Caine said. He stated that the arrangement is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a top firm in cybersecurity around the world.
Hacking: A Major Concern
Hacker attacks are a major concern for international companies, according to a previous PwC study. In 2022, France introduced a specialised campus outside the capital Paris to deal with the hacking plague.
The French company stated that the cost of the agreement implied an enterprise value of 17 times 2024 operational revenue.
“These are punchy multiples for the aerospace and defence industry,” said Chloe Lemarie, Equity Research Analyst at Jefferies. However, she said that it is “much more typical for the cybersecurity space.”
Thales Set to Become Global Leader in Cybersecurity
Thales stated that acquiring Imperva would make about $110mln in pre-tax partnerships. This includes $50mln of expenditure savings and $60mln attached to earnings. A mix of hard funds and new debts will finance and facilitate the agreement.
The takeover is the firm’s largest expansion after it acquired the digital identity firm Gemalto for $5.6bln in 2019.
Executives at Thales stressed that their current primary goal is to merge those two works. The firm, however, did not exclude more “bolt-on” takeovers in its essential work.
The French company has improved its civil cyber protection activity to transcend the defence industry. Furthermore, it seeks to be a leader and a rival in the defence sector in Europe. Thales asserted that the agreement would be a done-deal next year.
