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Darktrace<\/a> is set to go private in a deal that values the U.K.-based cybersecurity giant at around $5 billion.<\/p>\n A newly-formed entity called Luke Bidco Ltd, formed by private equity giant Thoma Bravo, has tabled an all-cash bid of \u00a36.20 ($7.75) per share, which represents a 44% premium on its average price for the three-month period ending April 25. However, this premium drops to just 20 percent when juxtaposed against Darktrace\u2019s closing price yesterday, as the company\u2019s shares had risen 20% to \u00a35.18 in the past month.<\/span><\/p>\n Founded out of Cambridge, U.K., in 2013, Darktrace is best known for AI-enabled threat detection smarts, using machine learning to identify abnormal network activity and attempts at ransomware attacks, insider attacks, data breaches, and more. The company claims big-name customers including Allianz, Airbus, and the City of Las Vegas.<\/p>\n After raising some $230 million in VC funding and hitting a private valuation of $1.65 billion<\/a>, Darktrace went public on the London Stock Exchange in April, 2021, with an opening-day valuation of $2.4 billion<\/a>. Its shares hit an all-time high later that year of \u00a39.45, and plummeted to an all-time low of \u00a32.29 last February. But they had been steadily rising since the turn of the year, and hadn\u2019t fallen below \u00a34 since the beginning of March.<\/p>\n The full valuation based on Thoma Bravo\u2019s offer amounts to $5.3 billion (\u00a34.25 billion) on what is known as a full-diluted basis, which takes into account all convertible securities and is designed to give a more comprehensive view of a company\u2019s valuation. However, the enterprise value in this instance is approximately $4.9 billion (\u00a34 billion), which includes additional considerations such as debt and cash positions.<\/p>\n There has been a swathe of \u201ctake-private\u201d deals of late, with Vista Equity this month announcing plans<\/a> to acquire revenue optimization platform Model N in $1.25 billion deal \u2014 its fifth take-private deal in 18 months. And last month, Thoma Bravo revealed it was taking <\/a>critical event management software company Everbridge private in $1.8 billion transaction.<\/p>\nTake-private<\/h2>\n