And some money moves for vendors.
EQT, the largest European private equity firm, will acquire a majority stake in Acronis, enhancing its growth vision and commitment to expanding its platform for managed service providers (MSPs). The transaction, pending regulatory approvals, is expected to be finalized in early to mid-2025. Acronis serves over 20,000 service providers and protects 750,000 businesses globally, focusing on data protection, cybersecurity, and IT infrastructure.
Trend Micro, the Japanese cybersecurity firm valued at approximately $9.9 billion, is exploring a sale after receiving buyout interest amid a weakening yen and stock underperformance. The company is working with investment bankers to attract potential buyers, including private equity firms, although no deal is guaranteed. Trend Micro’s shares have declined over 10% this year, and it is competing with major US rivals while reporting a 13% increase in second-quarter net sales.
Rewst has raised $45 million in Series C funding to enhance its robotic process automation platform and support for managed service providers (MSPs). This follows a significant growth of 182% in annual recurring revenue and 204% in customer base in the first half of 2024. The funding will be used to develop a new low-code App Platform, expand educational resources, and improve the core automation platform. At the same time, the company plans to double its workforce from 100 employees within the next year to meet increasing demand.
Why do we care?
Acronis is a significant player in the MSP world that often goes unnoticed, and a new PE player has entered the scene. As I always counsel, there is no need to change anything now; watch for any possible changes to come. And note someone might buy Trend Micro now. It would be amusing if those two combined, wouldn’t it?