A Dell Applied sciences flag exterior the corporate’s headquarters in Spherical Rock, Texas, February 6, 2023.
Jordan Vonderhaar | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures
Producer of private computer systems Dell Applied sciences is once more exploring a doable sale of SecureWorksafter failed earlier makes an attempt to discover a purchaser for the US cybersecurity firm, based on folks acquainted with the matter.
Shares of SecureWorks jumped greater than 20% on the information after buying and selling was briefly halted.
Spherical Rock, Texas-based Dell, based by CEO Michael Dell, has approached funding bankers from Morgan Stanley and Piper Sandler to gauge takeover curiosity from potential acquirers, together with personal fairness corporations, the sources mentioned, requesting anonymity as a result of the discussions are confidential.
A deal for SecureWorks, which has a market worth of about $658 million, isn’t assured and Dell may select to retain possession of the corporate, the sources mentioned.
Dell, which has divested many non-core property in recent times, owns 79.2% of SecureWorks and owns all the firm’s Class B shares, latest filings present. It additionally controls 97.4% of the corporate’s voting shares by means of twin class shares.
Dell explored a sale of SecureWorks in 2019 as a part of an effort to scale back Dell’s debt, Reuters reported on the time.
Based in 1998, Atlanta, Georgia-based SecureWorks gives safety companies that goal to guard companies from cyber assaults. The flagship of the cloud-based platform Taegis helps detect superior threats, based on the web site.
A spokesperson for SecureWorks declined to touch upon the sale course of, including that the corporate was “targeted on serving our stakeholders and advancing our mission to safe human progress at Taegis.”
Dell and Piper Sandler declined to remark, whereas Morgan Stanley didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Dell acquired SecureWorks in 2011 for $612 million earlier than itemizing its shares in an preliminary public providing in New York in 2016.
SecureWorks shares have misplaced greater than two-thirds of their worth since their September 2021 peak as the corporate struggles to compete and differentiate its choices from bigger cybersecurity suppliers.
Dell has been driving the latest wave of investor enthusiasm for synthetic intelligence, with earnings boosted by strong demand for its AI-focused servers. The corporate’s shares are up about 46% to date this yr, outperforming an 18% achieve within the S&P 500 index.
SecureWorks is predicted to report second-quarter outcomes on September 5.
