Thales, a French company has announced its plans to acquire Imperva, a US cybersecurity company for $3.6 billion. This step signals the company’s intentions to expand beyond its traditional defense business and strengthen its digital identity and security division. Acquiring Imperva also shows that Thales is committed to gaining a larger market share in the United States, where Imperva is seen as a major corporation.
The $3.6 billion acquisition price was negotiated between the two companies through them Bravo, a buyout firm. This price reflects an enterprise value of 17 times in light of its 2024 operating earnings forecast. The vice president at the cyber consulting firm called HeadMind Partners commented on this purchase. He stated that a significant amount of money was involved, in a step that was a rarity for major French corporations. Arpagian also highlighted the challenge of the integration between the two. He commented that well-trained personnel would be needed to navigate the dynamic software environment.
With this buyout, Thales stocks initially fell about 2% after the announcement went on. However, they recovered slightly later. The acquisition is expected to bring thales approximately $110 million in pretax, this comprises $50 million in cost savings and $60 million from revenue opportunities. Combined, the business is projected to have revenues of around €4.5 billion in 2024, with further growth to €5.4-5.5 billion by 2027.
Thales justified this cost by stating that they were paying 6.1 times sales for a business that Thoma Bravo had previously acquired at a multiple of 5 times. This means that it will be profitable eventually. The valuation for this acquisition was also deemed reasonable by Thales, given how much it will benefit their cybersecurity operations.
This deal is also expected to boost Thales’ earnings per share and all nearly $500 million in revenue. Talks with Thoma Bravo began in Q1 and over the past month accelerated greatly, resulting in the deal being announced. It will likely be finalized in 2024, given that there are no significant obstacles.
Before Imperva, Thales also acquired a digital identity company called Gemalto in 2019 for $5.6 billion. This was also a major purchase, allowing Thales to maintain its position in the cybersecurity market.
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Bethany Wilson 
