Shares of Proofpoint Inc. rocketed 32.0% in premarket trading, putting them on track to open well above its record closing price, after the cybersecurity and compliance company announced an agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in a cash deal that values the company at $12.3 billion. Under terms of the deal, Proofpoint shareholders will receive $176.00 in cash for each Proofpoint shares they own, which is 33.6% above Friday’s closing price of $131.78. The deal, which includes a “go-shop” period that expires on June 9, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021. “We have made tremendous strides in expanding the sophistication and scale of our offerings, and in 2020 we generated more than $1 billion in annual revenue – making Proofpoint the first SaaS-based cybersecurity and compliance company to reach that milestone,” said Proofpoint Chief Executive Gary Steele. “We believe that as a private company, we can be even more agile with greater flexibility to continue investing in innovation, building on our leadership position and staying ahead of threat actors.” The stock, which is on track to open well above the Jan. 12 record close of $139.50, has lost 2.3% over the past three months through Friday, while the ETFMG Price Cyber Security ETF has dropped 7.2% and the S&P 500 has gained 8.6%.
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