Cybersec company Sophos bought by Thoma Bravo for USD 3.8 billion

Sophos founders Jan Hruska and Peter Lammer, Hruska and Lammer, who started the company in 1985 and stepped down as joint chief executives in 2005, will make GBP 500 million between them from the sale, according to Fintech Futures. The new owner says the existing management team and employees at Sophos will be key to the business’ future success, making major restructuring and mass job losses unlikely.

Sophos hit headlines in 2017 when it cleaned up a ransomware cyber-attack which hit the National Health Service (NHS) England and UK businesses. Nearly 100 other countries around the world were also affected, including Russia, India and China. Corporate clients of Sophos include Pixar, Ford, and Toshiba.

The company houses more than 3,400 staff and a turnover of USD 710.6 million. Bloomberg reported that Sophos shares on the FTSE 250 soared by 37% on October 14, 2019 when the news of the acquisition was confirmed.