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KnowBe4 to go private in $4.6bn acquisition deal

Security awareness training KnowBe4 has agreed to go private in an all-cash $4.6bn deal with Vista Equity Partners, less than three weeks after first disclosing the deal. 

Vista Equity Partners’ offer of $24.90 per share represents a premium of around 44% on KnowBe4’s $17 closing price on September 16, the date Vista first made its initial acquisition proposal.

Stu Sjouwerman, Founder, Chairman and CEO of KnowBe4, said: “Under Vista’s ownership, we will have access to additional resources and support, which will help us achieve our goals and deliver enhanced value to our customers.”

Rod Aliabadi, MD at Vista, said: “As a significant investor in KnowBe4, we could not be more excited to take this next step in our journey together. We have long appreciated the work that KnowBe4 does in strengthening the human layer of cybersecurity through educating employees on how to identify social engineering and related cyber threats.”

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of next year, subject to customary closing conditions