STG-Led Consortium Strikes $1.2B Cash Deal for FireEye Products Business; Kevin Mandia Quoted

A consortium led by private equity firm Symphony Technology Group has agreed to acquire FireEye’s (Nasdaq: FEYE) products business, including the FireEye name, for approximately $1.2 billion in cash.

Milpitas, California-based FireEye said Wednesday it expects to complete the sale by the end of the fourth quarter and the deal will separate Mandiant Solutions’ controls-agnostic software and services from FireEye’s network, cloud, email and endpoint security products.

FireEye Products business and threat intelligence business Mandiant Solutions, which was acquired by FireEye in 2014, will continue to run as a single entity until the transaction’s completion. Upon closing, STG will operate the FireEye Products business as a standalone company within its portfolio.

“We believe this separation will unlock our high-growth Mandiant Solutions business and allow both organizations to better serve customers,” said FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia.

“After closing, we will be able to concentrate exclusively on scaling our intelligence and frontline expertise through the Mandiant Advantage platform, while the FireEye Products business will be able to prioritize investment on its cloud-first security product portfolio,” Mandia added.

FireEye also announced that its board of directors authorized a share buyback program of up to $500 million.

Goldman Sachs & Co. and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati respectively serve as financial and legal advisers to FireEye in the transaction.

UBS Investment Bank and Jefferies serve as STG’s financial advisers while Paul Hastings acts as the private equity firm’s legal counsel. UBS Investment Bank and Jefferies Finance are financing the acquisition.