PARIS, July 25 (Reuters) - France's Thales (TCFP.PA) said on Tuesday it would buy U.S. cybersecurity company Imperva in a deal worth $3.6 billion as it steps up expansion away from its historic defence business to the war against hacking.
"This really changes our scale in civil cybersecurity," Thales Chief Executive Patrice Caine told analysts, adding that the deal represented a rare opportunity to become a premium player on a global scale in cybersecurity.
Thales said the price of the deal implied an enterprise value of 17 times 2024 operating earnings.
Thales said buying Imperva would generate around $110 million of pretax synergies, including $50 million of cost savings and $60 million linked to revenue opportunities.
Thales said the deal would close in 2024 subject to approvals, and did not anticipate significant hurdles.
Persons:
Thoma, Patrice Caine, Thales, Jefferies, Chloe Lemarie, Caine, Morgan Stanley, Sudip Kar, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Kim Coghill, Bernadette Baum
Organizations:
Thales, Thoma Bravo, PwC, Cobham Aerospace Communications, Thomson
Locations:
cybersecurity, France, Paris, Europe