Private Equity Firms Eye Trend Micro in Potential $8.5B Buyout

Bain Capital, Advent International, EQT AB, and KKR are among private equity firms exploring a potential acquisition of Japanese cybersecurity giant Trend Micro (OTC:TMICY), which has a market value of 1.32 trillion yen ($8.54 billion), sources revealed.

Shares of Trend Micro surged over 12% in Tokyo following reports of buyout interest. While the company has been considering a sale since last year, no deal is certain, and it may opt to remain independent.

A successful acquisition would mark one of the largest leveraged buyouts in recent months, signaling a rebound in private equity deals after central bank interest rate hikes slowed activity. The cybersecurity sector has seen heightened M&A interest as businesses increase investments in security solutions.

Founded in 1988 by Steve Chang, Jenny Chang, and Eva Chen, Trend Micro has evolved from an antivirus provider into a leader in cloud, network, and endpoint security. In Q3, the company reported a 6% revenue increase to 68.1 billion yen, with a 42% rise in operating income to 14.8 billion yen, boosting its operating margin to 24%.

Trend Micro faces competition from U.S. cybersecurity firms like CrowdStrike, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW), and McAfee. Private equity firms have actively pursued cybersecurity deals, with Advent, Bain, and EQT previously exploring a bid for Rapid7 (NASDAQ:RPD). Last year, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) considered a $23 billion acquisition of Wiz, though talks collapsed.

Trend Micro has not commented on the takeover interest, while Bain, EQT, KKR, and Advent declined to respond.