Private equity giant Tomasz Bravo has announced that it is a security information and event management (SIEM) company. LogRhythm will connect with I’ll leavea rival cybersecurity company backed by corporations resembling Cisco and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
SIEM is a company that uses real-time data collected from servers, network devices and applications to flag abnormal activity and thwart potential security threats before they escalate. Consolidation in space is common. News of LogRhythm and Exabeam’s merger broke on the same day as Palo Alto Networks confirmed was acquiring the assets of IBM’s SIEM division, QRadar, which IBM itself acquired in 2011. It also follows Cisco’s $28 billion megadeal to purchase SIEM giant Splunk, which closed in March.
More broadly, the cybersecurity space is rife with mergers and acquisitions: earlier this month, Akamai revealed it was acquiring API security company Noname for $450 million; Permira bought a majority stake in digital fraud detection startup BioCatch for $1.3 billion; and Thoma Bravo have raised their heads again to accumulate cybersecurity company Darktrace in a $5 billion deal.
Elsewhere, cloud security platform Wiz has achieved an impressive valuation of $12 billion on a $1 billion fundraising round, an investment it says will likely be largely used to accumulate other cybersecurity startups.
For its part, LogRhythm raised about $126 million before Thoma Bravo stepped in and acquired a majority stake in 2018 for an unrevealed character. Meanwhile, Exabeam increased its total funding to almost $400 million in a $200 million Series F round in 2021. Thoma Bravo didn’t disclose Exabeam’s valuation for this merger. Exabeam was previously valued at $2.4 billion. However, many corporations’ valuations have plummeted during the great post-pandemic correction; and Exabeam encountered several difficulties. This Post on Reddit for example, it details layoffs six months ago.
As in almost every sector today, artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly key role in the cybersecurity space, with Exabeam calling it “AI-powered security solutions,” based on LogRhythm CEO Chris O’Malley.
“Together, our expertise and shared strategic vision will accelerate innovative AI-powered cybersecurity solutions for customers around the world,” O’Malley said in a statement. “Vigilant CISOs have been eagerly awaiting the emergence of a strong, customer-obsessed, and focused global leader in AI-powered security operations – one that offers a best-in-class alternative to the frustratingly complex options currently available on the market. The day has come.”
Thoma Bravo said it expects the merger to shut in the third quarter of 2024.