FireEye CEO coy on sale rumours

Kevin Mandia swerves analyst question after reports of a private equity buyout surfaced earlier this month

FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia has dodged questions about the cybersecurity vendor's future on an earnings call, claiming he doesn't "get distracted by rumours".

Reports published at the start of the month said that the firm is working with Goldman Sachs to identify potential buyers that would take the NASDAQ-listed vendor private.

Mandia refused to be drawn on the whispers when reporting FireEye's Q3 results, which saw revenue rise seven per cent year on year during the period ending 30 September 2019.

"Just as a matter of policy, we don't comment on rumours," he said. "And then just a matter of personal habit, I don't get distracted by rumours.

"So I generally show up every day not thinking about how do we exit. I show up every day thinking how do we execute and that's just what we do around here.

"So we're building this company to be the best security company it can be."

FireEye's share price fell as much as 6.4 per cent in after-hours trading and net losses per share widened from $0.26 to $0.31.

The firm reported an operating loss of $54.7m (£42.4m), a 50 per cent increase on the previous quarter.