Thales To Focus On Securing Apps, Data With Closing Of Imperva Acquisition

The $3.6 billion acquisition places Thales among the world’s largest cybersecurity vendors by revenue, the company said.

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Imperva CEO Pam Murphy

Defense and aerospace company Thales announced Monday it has closed its $3.6 billion acquisition of cybersecurity vendor Imperva, a bit ahead of schedule.

Thales’ acquisition of Imperva from private equity firm Thoma Bravo had been expected to close in early 2024, the company said when it announced the deal in July.

The acquisition elevates Thales into the ranks of the world’s largest security vendors, the company said, with cybersecurity revenue of $2.6 billion expected in 2024. Thales previously said the acquisition of Imperva would add about $500 million in revenue.

“With integration beginning in January, we look forward to helping customers secure apps, data, and identities as one company,” Imperva CEO Pam Murphy said Monday in a post on X.

While not mentioned in a news release Monday from Thales, Murphy was quoted in a separate release from Thoma Bravo, saying that “we are excited to build on the momentum we have achieved with Thoma Bravo and begin our new chapter with Thales.“

CRN has reached out to Thales for details on Murphy’s role at Thales.

A longtime player in application security categories such as web application firewall and DDoS protection, Imperva has expanded in recent years into emerging segments of the market, such as API security, while also bringing a growing focus on other related categories such as data security.

Many customers are now looking to Imperva channel partners to deliver services around the vendor’s offerings, including in areas such as API security and data security that require a high degree of expertise, Imperva Channel Chief Micheal McCollough said in an interview with CRN earlier this year.

France-based Thales said it now employs more than 5,800 cybersecurity professionals across 68 countries following the acquisition of San Mateo, Calif.-based Imperva.

It’s the ninth acquisition in security for Thales and the second largest behind its $5.6 billion deal for Gemalto in 2019. Previously, Thales had reportedly been eyeing an acquisition of Atos’ cybersecurity business in 2022, but a deal did not materialize.

Thales said in its news release that its cybersecurity portfolio is now focused around application security, data security and identity and access management.

“Thales is now uniquely positioned to help customers protect the heart of their digital ecosystem: applications, data and identities,” Thales CEO Patrice Caine said in the release.

The company did not specify how many employees the Imperva acquisition will add, but said that its North America digital security workforce will increase by “almost a third.”

After operating as a publicly traded company for about eight years, following its 2011 IPO, Imperva went private in early 2019 when it was acquired by Thoma Bravo for $2.1 billion.

Thoma Bravo has been a prolific acquirer of cybersecurity vendors in recent years, with a portfolio that currently includes Proofpoint, Sophos and SailPoint, along with significant stakes in a number of other security vendors. The private equity firm also owns Ping Identity, which the firm combined with another identity security vendor, ForgeRock, in August.