Regulatory approval awaited for Darktrace’s £4.25bn sale to Thoma Bravo

Private equity company Thoma Bravo, whose £4.25bn bid for Darktrace has been approved by shareholders, is now awaiting regulatory approval before the sale is confirmed.

Thoma Bravo, a Chicago-based private equity firm, launched its all-cash offer in April. Andrew Almeida, a partner at Thoma Bravo, said: “Darktrace is at the very cutting edge of cybersecurity technology, and we have long been admirers of its platform and capability in artificial intelligence.”

The shareholders voted to approve the offer in June. Commenting on the results of the court meeting and general meeting,

Poppy Gustafsson, the CEO of Cambridge-based Darktrace, said: “We are pleased that our shareholders have overwhelmingly voted in favour of Thoma Bravo’s offer to acquire Darktrace. While the deal remains subject to regulatory approvals, this is a significant milestone in the next chapter for Darktrace.”

The company expects the approval will be granted before the end of the year. The sale is not likely to have been affected by the tragic death of Mike Lynch, whose stake in Darktrace had been reduced to around 3 per cent, it was reported in Fortune magazine.

Dr Lynch and wife, Angela Bacares, co-owned the Darktrace shares. Dr Lynch co-founded the company in 2013 in Cambridge.