Mimecast goes private in $5.8bn Permira deal

Nasdaq-listed email security vendor enters ‘new chapter’ through private equity deal

Mimecast will become a privately-owned company through a deal with Permira valuing the business at around $5.8bn.

Permira will acquire all outstanding ordinary shares of Mimecast for $80 a-share in an all-cash transaction that represents a 16 per cent premium on its closing stock price on 27 October 2021.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2022 but includes a 30-day "go-shop" period expiring 6 January 2022 in which Mimecast can actively search for alternate acquisition proposals. It has the right to terminate the Permira deal if it finds something better during the go-shop window.

Mimecast has been a publicly listed company for six years. It made its debut on the Nasdaq market in the US in 2015, despite being based in the UK.

Permira meanwhile is a UK-based private equity firm based in London which claims to have backed more than 280 businesses with €44bn in committed capital.

The company backs cybersecurity distributor Exclusive Networks, which IPOed earlier this year, as well as vendors including Genesys, Informatica and Nexthink.

"Today is an exciting milestone for Mimecast as we begin a new chapter for our company," said Peter Bauer, CEO of Mimecast.

"Our team has done an outstanding job growing and expanding our relationships with customers and innovating our platform. Permira has a strong track record of collaboratively supporting companies' growth ambitions and strategic goals, and we look forward to working together to further strengthen the cybersecurity and resilience of organizations around the world. This is a great outcome for our company and our shareholders."

"We have long admired Mimecast, its management team and its talented employees," added Permira partners Michail Zekkos and Ryan Lanpher.

"Email is the leading vector for cyberattacks, and phishing and impersonation attempts are continuously evolving. This means there has never been more urgency or need for organizations to protect their critical data and infrastructure. With an innovative platform, world-class security controls and scalable model, Mimecast is ideally positioned to help companies both large and small protect their employees from malicious activity. We look forward to leveraging our experience scaling global technology businesses as we partner with Peter and team on their next phase of growth."