Transaction worth millions: Sophos takes over Secureworks

The IT security company Sophos is to acquire the US cybersecurity firm Secureworks. The UK-based company made a final takeover agreement for 859 million US dollars in cash public on Monday. Sophos hopes the deal will strengthen its product range for enterprise customers worldwide.

"Sophos' experience and reputation as a leading provider of managed security services and end-to-end security products, combined with Secureworks' security operations expertise brought to the Taegis platform, is expected to result in further complementary advanced MDR and XDR solutions that will benefit their global customers", a Sophos press release said. XDR (Extended Detection and Response) and MDR (Managed Detection and Response) are advanced concepts in IT security. They are aimed at comprehensive threat detection and defense. Sophos has its strengths in cloud and network security solutions, while Dell Technologies subsidiary Secureworks offers products for advanced cyber threat detection, such as the aforementioned cloud-based platform Taegis.

"Sophos plans to integrate the solutions of both companies into a broader and stronger security portfolio," a company spokesperson told heise online. "This includes Sophos expanding its current portfolio with additional new offerings such as identity threat detection and response (ITDR), next-generation SIEM capabilities, operational technology (OT) security and enhanced vulnerability risk prioritization."

Previous sales attempts by Secureworks unsuccessful

According to news agency Reuters, despite applications like Taegis, Secureworks has struggled to differentiate its products in competition with larger cybersecurity vendors. In the second quarter of the year, the company reported a loss of 17 US cents per share. As a result, owner Dell Technologies had the interest of potential buyers in a takeover examined. Previous attempts to sell the company had been unsuccessful.

Now Sophos, which is owned by the private equity company Thoma Bravo, is making its move. Secureworks shareholders, including Dell, will receive 8.50 US dollars per share in cash, as Sophos announced in its press release. The transaction is expected to close early next year.

"Secureworks offers an innovative, market-leading solution with its XDR platform Taegis. Combined with our security solutions and industry leadership in MDR, we will strengthen our joint market position and deliver better outcomes for organizations of all sizes worldwide," said Sophos CEO Joe Levy, expressing his satisfaction with the announced deal. Secureworks' expertise in cybersecurity fits perfectly with Sophos' "mission to protect organizations from cybercrime by providing "powerful and intuitive products and services".

(akn)