French aerospace, defence, security and ground transportation giant Thales is aiming to become the world leader in cybersecurity. To achieve this goal, Thales is ready to acquire an American champion in the sector, the Imperva group, a software and services publisher, according to the French group’s announcement via a press release on Tuesday, July 25.
California-based Imperva is a leader in cybersecurity, protecting mission-critical applications and large-scale data. The group is present in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It operates in 180 countries.
Imperva is valued at $3.6 billion. With this acquisition, Thales will benefit from additional sales of around $500 million annually, and will be able to offer a broad portfolio of cybersecurity products and solutions.
The cybersecurity market is growing rapidly. It has become a virtual battlefield involving governments, corporations, criminal groups and hackers.
Gartner estimates that the cybersecurity market will reach $267 billion by 2026, compared with 172 billion euros last year. But the global cost of damage from cyberattacks will be 10,000 billion, according to consultants McKinsey.
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