Buyout firm KKR & Co Inc is exploring a sale or an initial public offering for Optiv Security Inc, a U.S. cybersecurity solutions distributor and consultant it controls at a valuation of more than $3 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
KKR has held discussions with investment banks about how to cash out of Optiv, which it acquired five years ago, the sources said. A potential sale of Optiv could attract interest from other private equity firms, the sources added, requesting anonymity because the matter is confidential and the deliberations are preliminary and may not lead to any deal.
KKR acquired a majority stake in the Denver, Colorado-based company in 2017 from private equity firms Blackstone Inc, Investcorp and Sverica Capital. Media reports at the time pegged the value of that deal at nearly $2 billion, as the company reported $643.8 million in revenue on about $651 million debt in the first nine months of 2016.
Read more: Reuters
