In keeping with our mission to provide comprehensive advertising analysis, MediaRadar puts together a report of the most important mergers and acquisitions news each week. Stay in the loop, whether you sell advertising space or focus on business development.
This week, Thoma Bravo expands its portfolio in cybersecurity with the acquisition of Sophos. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. makes strides in molecular diagnostics with QIAGEN and Yum Brands invests in fast food leadership training with its acquisition of Heartstyles.
Thoma Bravo acquires leader in cybersecurity Sophos
Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity firm focused on software and technology sectors, has completed its acquisition of Sophos, a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity. The deal values Sophos at nearly $3.9 billion.
Sophos offers cybersecurity solutions to more than 400,000 organizations in more than 150 countries and has more than 100 million users. Sophos’ offerings include AI-powered and cloud-native solutions that protect devices and networks against a variety of cyberattack methods.
In a world plagued with over 4,000 cyberattacks daily, Thoma Bravo has positioned itself to benefit from the increasing demand for better cybersecurity measures.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. gains QIAGEN
U.S. laboratory equipment maker Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has agreed to acquire the Netherlands-based molecular diagnostics company QIAGEN for $10.1 billion.
QIAGEN is a provider of life science and molecular diagnostic solutions that employs thousands of people in more than 25 countries. The company is active in infectious disease testing, and a test to detect the coronavirus is currently under development.
Thermo Fisher is a leading provider in analytical instruments and equipment for research, analysis, and diagnostics for pharmaceutical companies. Combing with QIAGEN will expand Thermo Fisher’s specialty-diagnostics portfolio and accelerate innovation in healthcare.
Yum Brands brings on leadership program Heartstyles
Yum Brands, an American fast food corporation listed on the Fortune 500, has acquired Heartstyles, a leadership development program focused on personal development and healthy thinking.
Yum plans to implement the leadership training program at more than 5,000 restaurants in the near future. Yum owns several well-known fast food restaurants such as KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. This deal follows a string of investments that Yum made recently which include the $375 million acquisition of Habit Burger, a $200 million investment in GrubHub, and the purchase of QuickOrder.
Yum’s acquisition of Heartstyles helps to provide incentives to keep good employees by providing in-house training and development while also bettering the capabilities of operators with potential.
In Other News
These are some other notable deals and developments from the past week:
- Uber has announced the sale of its food delivery service division in India to Zomato for $206 million; the deal also includes Uber acquiring a 9.99% stake in Zomato.
- uBid Holdings, Inc. has announced the closing of the acquisition of Restaurant.com, an online provider of restaurant deals through certificates, incentives, and loyalty programs.
- WeWork has sold its facilities management company, Managed by Q, to Eden Technologies for $25 million. Managed by Q was sold for nearly $200 million less than what WeWork paid for it last April.
- DocuSign, Inc. announced that it is acquiring contract analytics and AI technology provider Seal Software Limited for $188 million in cash.
- According to Reuters, private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc. is in talks to acquire Tutor Perini Corporation, one of the largest general contractors in the United States. The offer Apollo made is believed to be close to $1 billion, or about $17 per TPC share.
- HP Inc. announced that after consultation with independent financial and legal advisors, its board of directors concluded that the exchange offer from Xerox Holdings Corporation to acquire HP is not in the best interest of HP shareholders.
