Second time lucky for Thoma Bravo, which scoops up Darktrace for $5.3B

Private equity investor Thoma Bravo has successfully completed a second acquisition attempt of UK-based cybersecurity company Darktrace in a $5.3 billion deal.

Thoma Bravo, which has an extensive portfolio of cybersecurity companies including McAfee, Proofpoint, and Sophos, originally moved for Darktrace in 2022 but the deal collapsed in the early stages.

Darktrace's share price plummeted following the deal's abandonment, and months later allegations of accounting fraud from a short seller ensured that the share price remained well below its all-time highs of 2021 when it was first listed in London. The fraud claims were nullified last year when auditing giant EY gave Darktrace a clean bill of health.

Since then, the company has reported steady growth, with the share price spiking in March following some strong financials. Today's share price shot up to $7.59, the highest it has been in two-and-a-half years.

Darktrace shareholders will ...