Cybersecurity giant Darktrace is making its first acquisition following its £4.3 billion takeover by US private equity firm Thoma Bravo late last year.
A deal has been agreed to acquire London-based Cado Security, a cloud investigation and response specialist, for up to £131 million.
Cado delivers support across multi-cloud, container, serverless, SaaS and on-premises environments, eliminating blind spots in incident response.
Cambridge-based Darktrace says it intends to combine Cado’s forensic investigation technology with its own ActiveAI Security Platform, enhancing data collection to better defend customers’ operations. It could also significantly augment Darktrace’s Cyber AI Analyst, which investigates alerts, streamlines investigations and prioritises incidents.
Cado’s R&D teams in London and Bristol will work alongside Darktrace’s established R&D centers in Cambridge and The Hague, Netherlands.
The acquisition is subject to receipt of regulatory approval and is expected to complete in February.
Cado was founded by James Campbell, CEO, and Chris Doman, CTO. Campbell previously served as a director at PwC, building its cyber incident response service. His background also includes a career in intelligence, previously leading Australia’s national incident response capability as the assistant director of operations at the Australian Signals Directorate.
Doman is well-known for building the popular threat intelligence portal ThreatCrowd, which then merged into the AlienVault Open Threat Exchange, and was subsequently acquired by AT&T.
“The addition of Cado’s deep expertise in cloud-based data collection and forensics will enhance our ability to protect customers, ensuring they can operate securely and confidently across all areas of their business,” said Jill Popelka, Darktrace CEO.
“Together, Darktrace and Cado will help customers quickly and effectively prevent and deter cyber threats, maintaining resilience in a fast-evolving threat landscape.”
Campbell added: “Darktrace is an excellent fit for Cado, providing an opportunity for growth and innovation while allowing our team to advance their careers within a dynamic company deeply committed to R&D and to protecting its customers from growing cyber threats.
“Our technologies build on each other’s strengths, and we are incredibly excited to work with the Darktrace team to continue to elevate AI-driven cybersecurity capabilities for our combined global customer base.”
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