Tim Mueller’s Transaction Analysis: New IT M&A Deals May 1 & 2

Thales to Acquire Guavus

Financial Information*

  • Enterprise Value: ≤ $215 million
  • EV/2017 Revenue: 7.2x
  • EV/LTM EBITDA: N/A

Transaction Facts

  • French tech supplier Thales S.A. (EPA:HO) announced today that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire San Mateo-based Guavus, a developer of real-time big data analytics software.
  • Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed. However, according to the press release, Guavus will be valued at up to $215 million, subject to the achievement of specific sales growth targets.
  • Guavus’ revenues are expected to exceed $30 million for the current fiscal year. The transaction’s impact on Thales’ 2017 EBIT is expected to be non-material.
  • The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

Big Data, Big Money

  • Filling in the Gaps: This is the latest in a series of technology deals that Thales has pursued as it looks to augment its own vast offerings suite, which ranges from in-flight entertainment to satellite and missile technology. Analytics capabilities are particularly valuable to defense clients, who seek to quickly and efficiently process large sums of data.
  • High-Value Assets: Guavus employs 250 people across California, Canada and India. Looking at value per employee, at the maximum enterprise value outlined in the press release, Thales is paying roughly $860,000. This testifies to the premium that higher value software and services companies command, and is significantly higher than Thales’, which is closer to $306,000.
  • Hot Commodity: Demand for analytics capabilities crosses all industries. Within the SaaS space, ERP vendor Infor announced this week it will be acquiring business analytics vendor Birst. Bigger players like Salesforce and Workday were behind some of the larger acquisitions in the space in 2016, with the purchases of BeyondCore and Platfora, respectively.

Cisco to Acquire Viptela

Financial Information*

  • Enterprise Value: $610 million
  • EV/LTM Revenue: N/A
  • EV/LTM EBITDA: N/A

Transaction Facts

  • Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) announced yesterday its intent to acquire Viptela Inc., a San Jose-based startup developing software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) technology, which enables businesses to improve access between their corporate data centers and branches.
  • Cisco will acquire Viptela for $610 million in cash and assumed equity awards.
  • Viptela raised $108 million in venture funding, and according to PitchBook, was valued at $900 million by its investors last year.
  • Pending regulatory proceedings, the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2017.

Adapting to a Changing Landscape

  • M&A Mastery: With nearly 200 deals under its belt since its founding and over 20 since 2015 alone, Cisco has developed an acquired taste for strategic buys. Viptela marks its second purchase of 2017, following its eleventh hour purchase of business software company AppDynamics for $3.7 billion.
  • Rocky Road: While Viptela’s advanced software gave it a near-unicorn valuation, the realities of intense competition from startups like Aryaka, CloudGenix, and Cisco-backed VeloCloud, in addition to internal company difficulties, made a quick sale the most appealing path forward.
  • Shift to Software: Cisco’s penchant for identifying and integrating valuable targets exemplifies today’s trend of larger companies turning to M&A to remain competitive. As the largest networking company in the world, Cisco is positioned favorably to invest in multiple growing technologies, from cloud to Internet of Things. As competitors struggle to differentiate themselves through hardware performance, Cisco is pressing into rapidly changing, newer industries.
  • Deepening Integration: This transaction is a homecoming of sorts — Viptela’s founders include former Cisco engineers. Post deal, a majority of Viptela’s nearly 120 employees will join Cisco.
  • Another Entrance: As larger players continue to fight for a bigger share of the cloud market, smaller startups and hardware-based companies risk being edged out. This acquisition provides Cisco yet another entrance into the lucrative market, allowing the company access to new customers.

For more information about this transaction, click here to read the press release.
To receive instant analysis on the day’s business news from Tim Mueller, contact [email protected]. Check out a list of diverse assets for sale on SBN’s IT M&A Marketplace powered by IT ExchangeNet here.
IT ExchangeNet is the industry-leading marketplace for matching buyers with sellers of mid-market IT businesses. Founded in 1998 by technology CEOs and M&A professionals, IT ExchangeNet is an efficient marketplace for owners of mid-market IT businesses seeking buyers or strategic partners. ExchangeNet follows a disciplined and highly targeted process, bringing buyers and sellers together to close deals with transaction values of less than $25 million.