Another Email Security Vendor Sold
Mimecast will potentially walk away from the public market more than a half-decade after its initial public offering following the $5.8 billion purchase offer from private equity firm Permira. The Lexington, Mass.-based email security powerhouse would be the first cybersecurity vendor owned solely by Permira, coming just a month after the private equity firm joined others to buy McAfee for $14 billion.
“We have long admired Mimecast, its management team and its talented employees,” Permira Partners Michail Zekkos and Ryan Lanpher said in a statement. “Email is the leading vector for cyberattacks, and phishing and impersonation attempts are continuously evolving. This means there has never been more urgency or need for organizations to protect their critical data and infrastructure.”
Permira’s acquisition of Mimecast is expected to close in the first half of 2022, and Mimecast declined to make executives available for additional comment. Here’s a look at how Mimecast can leverage Permira’s deep pockets to its advantage, the possibility of another buyer coming in with a superior bid for Mimecast, and why email security vendors have made such appealing acquisition targets this year.