Thales boosts cybersecurity arm with US$3.6bn Imperva deal

European defence and security specialists Thales has acquired US-based cybersecurity company Imperva for US$3.6 billion from software investment firm Thoma Bravo.

The deal will build on Thales’ growth in the cybersecurity space, with more than €1.5 billion (US$1.66 billion) in sales generated in 2022, and more than 4,000 cybersecurity experts in 20 countries.

“The acquisition of Imperva marks a major milestone in Thales’ cybersecurity strategy,” said Patrice Caine, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Thales.

“With this acquisition, we are seizing a unique opportunity to accelerate our cybersecurity capabilities and are taking an important step towards our ambition to build a world-class global cybersecurity integrated player, providing a comprehensive portfolio of products and services.”

Thales's customers include government agencies, institutions, cities and businesses. These customers all provide critical systems, services and infrastructure in defence, security, air and rail transport, banking, and telecommunications.

Imperva will bring extra cybersecurity expertise to Thales

Imperva is a cybersecurity leader headquartered in San Mateo, California, with a global footprint in the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

Imperva clients include around 35% of Fortune 100 companies and some of the largest groups in financial services, telecommunications, energy, healthcare, retail and e-commerce. The company has also been recognised by Gartner for multiple awards.

“Today’s announcement represents an exciting new chapter for Imperva, one that will further our mission to help organisations protect data and all paths to it, bring better protection and strategic value to our customers and partners, and create more opportunities for our team members,” said Pam Murphy, Chief Executive Officer, Imperva. 

“We admire Thales’ vision and culture, and believe that, together, we can deliver greater product innovation and efficiency through disruptive solutions, while helping to simplify the greatest security challenges facing organisations today: protecting digital identities, applications, APIs, and data in any environment, and any industry.”

Combining operations in an acquisition is always a challenge, but Thales and Imperva have identified three key product areas where they will combine their strengths, with Thales focused on Identity, Imperva handling Application Security, and both handling Data Security.

Prior to this acquisition, Thales has 77,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2022, the Group generated sales of €17.6 billion (US$19.5 billion).

Last week (20 July), Thales announced its first-half results for 2023, with sales growth of 7% ahead of target, driven by recovery in civil aeronautics and strong performance from the cybersecurity division.

Thales also recently made two further acquisitions – Tesserent in cybersecurity and Cobham Aerospace Communications in cockpit connectivity.

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