US investors back UK firm's increased assault on the American
market
Sophos, a world leading developer of corporate anti-virus
protection, has announced that TA Associates, one of the leading
private equity and buyout firms in the United States, has completed
a minority investment of £41 million (US$60 million) in the
company. Two TA Associates senior executives have been appointed by
Sophos, one to the Sophos Plc board in the UK and the other to the
board of Sophos Americas. These appointments will also help drive
the company's continued activities in the US market.
"We decided to partner with TA because of its deep software
investment experience, extensive network of contacts and expertise
in helping companies grow their business in the vital US market,"
said Dr. Peter Lammer, co-founder and joint CEO of Sophos. "TA's
investment should enable us to capitalise further on the worldwide
growth in demand for anti-virus protection by helping us gain
market share in the largest market in the world."
Sophos has experienced rapid growth in revenue and profitability
as reflected in a base of well over 10 million users and compound
annual growth in revenue of 50 percent over the last three years.
Sophos products are sold and supported in over 150 countries
through a global network of subsidiaries and partners.
"Sophos's high-quality products and superior customer service
have given the company an unrivalled reputation in the security
software corporate marketplace and led to its strong growth and
profitability," said Ajit Nedungadi, a Vice President at TA
Associates, who will join Sophos's UK Board. "TA is pleased to be
able to participate in Sophos's continued success moving
forward."
"Sophos is the kind of profitable, rapidly growing software
company TA has always found attractive," said Brian J. Conway, a
Managing Director at TA Associates, who will join the Board of
Sophos Americas. "TA's history of investing in successful software
companies and prior experience in the security software area led us
to Europe, where Sophos is a leading anti-virus developer."
Sophos is headquartered in the UK, with subsidiaries and branch
offices in the US, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and
Singapore. Sophos's business is focused exclusively on the
corporate marketplace where its products protect all key points in
a company's IT infrastructure including gateways, email, servers
and desktops.
All products combine award-winning technology with outstanding
engineering to provide easily administered, integrated protection
across multiple platforms. At the core of all Sophos products is a
sophisticated virus detection engine, developed and supported by
Sophos experts. The software's platform-independent architecture
ensures the same network functionality regardless of the operating
system being used.
About TA Associates
Founded in 1968, TA Associates is one of the largest and most
experienced investors in technology recapitalisations and
management buyouts in the US. With offices in Boston, Menlo Park,
and Pittsburgh, TA manages over $5 billion in capital and has
invested in more than 330 companies. TA Associates provides growth
equity capital and management buyout financing for technology,
financial services and healthcare related businesses. More
information about TA Associates can be found at www.ta.com.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.