Oct 21 (Reuters) - Cybersecurity firm Sophos, which is

backed by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, said on Monday it

will acquire Secureworks ( SCWX ) for $859 million in an

all-cash deal to strengthen its cybersecurity offering for

small, mid and enterprise customers.

Reuters previously reported Secureworks ( SCWX ) shareholder Dell

Technologies ( DELL ) had investment bankers from Morgan Stanley

and Piper Sandler assess takeover interest from potential

buyers, including private equity firms, after earlier

unsuccessful sale attempts.

Secureworks ( SCWX ) shareholders, including Dell, will receive $8.50

per share in cash from UK-based Sophos. The stock closed at

$8.47 on Friday.

Thoma Bravo is building a portfolio of cybersecurity assets,

notably acquiring UK's Darktrace for around $5.3 billion earlier

this year.

Founded in 1998, the Atlanta, Georgia-based Secureworks ( SCWX )

offers security services to protect corporations from

cyberattacks. Its flagship cloud-based platform Taegis helps

detect advanced threats, according to its website.

Dell acquired Secureworks ( SCWX ) for $612 million in 2011 before

listing its shares through an initial public offering in New

York in 2016. It earlier explored a sale of Secureworks ( SCWX ) in 2019.

Secureworks ( SCWX ) has struggled to compete and differentiate its

offerings against larger cybersecurity providers. It reported

breakeven results with a quarterly loss of 17 cents per share in

the quarter ended July 31.

The transaction is expected to close in early 2025.