Technology M&A Round-Up: January 23, 2023

RSA Security Explores Sale of Archer Integrated Risk Management

On January 18th, news broke that RSA Security, a former cybersecurity division of Dell Technologies , is reportedly in talks to sell its Archer business unit. Archer, which provides a range of risk and compliance software solutions, generated ~$220M in revenue in 2022 and is likely worth upwards of $2B.

The sale process is being run by both 摩根士丹利 and 高盛 . According to reports, the company has already garnered significant interest from both strategic and financial acquirers.

Exterro to Acquire Zapproved

Last week, Exterro, a provider of legal software, announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Zapproved, a provider of e-discovery solutions for corporate legal teams. The deal will add significant scale to Exterro's operations in the governance, risk, and compliance space.

Exterro, which is backed by American private equity firm Leeds Equity Partners , was valued at $1B in July. The company reportedly plans to IPO in 2024 and sees acquisitions as a key way to scale before hitting public markets. Besides Zapproved, Exterro previously acquired AccessData, a provider of digital forensic investigation solutions, as well as Jordan Lawrence, a company that provides information security and record management solutions.

Thoma Bravo to Acquire Magnet Forensics

Leading American private equity firm Thoma Bravo announced the acquisition of Magnet Forensics, a Waterloo, Ontario-based company that provides a range of cybercrime software solutions. The transaction prices Magnet Forensics at $44.25 per share, a 15.4% premium of the company's closing share price on January 19th. The total consideration is said to be in the region of ~$1.8B.

As part of the transaction, Thoma Bravo will pay $39 per share to the company's two co-founders, Adam Belsher and Jad Saliba, as well as Jim Balsillie, who control ~29 million super-voting shares and 95% voting control. The transaction, which has already received board and controlling shareholder approval, is subject to another broader shareholder vote in March.

Post-acquisition, Thoma Bravo plans on merging Magnet Forensics with Grayshift , a provider of mobile device forensic tools.

Elliott Investment Management L.P. Acquires Significant Stake in Salesforce

Elliott Investment Management, an American activist investor, announced that it has taken a multi-billion dollar position in leading CRM software company Salesforce. Salesforce has been under fire in recent months as the company's public market valuation has dropped by nearly $170B since its peak in 2021. Like many other tech companies, Salesforce also announced a series of layoffs, resulting in nearly 10% of the company's workforce being let go.

While Elliott Investment Management's intentions remain unclear, it is likely that the firm will join other significant investors, including Starboard Value LP , in calling for cost-cutting measures that will buoy Salesforce's stock price. Elliott has also proven that it has the flexibility to engineer significant transactions involving large companies. Recent examples include transactions involving Citrix and 尼尔森 .