Bloomberg Business is reporting that Blue Coat Systems has been taking pitches from investment banks for an initial public offering. This comes just nine months after the Internet security provider was acquired by private equity firm Bain Capital Partners LLC.
While the discussions are private, sources close to the matter have said an IPO could be in the works for as early as Q2 2016. No final decision has been made; however, if Bain does decide to proceed, it would be the second time that Blue Coat’s private equity backers have chosen to exit in a quick timeframe. Bain purchased the California-based company in March of this year for $2.4 billion from private equity firm Thoma Bravo, which took the tech company private in a $1.3 billion transaction dating back to 2012.
Internet security remains a major concern for corporate America as major cyberattacks have targeted high-profile financial and commerce companies in recent years. Blue Coat’s security tools — which include real-time threat analytics for smartphones and Web gateway technology that scans companies’ Internet traffic to look for hacking threats — position the company well in the market.
Bloomberg points out that investments in U.S. Internet security companies by private equity firms has increased more than six times to $13.9 billion for 107 deals in the past three years. However, since Dec. 2012, only three of these companies have gone public.
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