Exclusive-Cybersecurity firm SentinelOne explores sale -sources

investing.com:

By Milana Vinn and Anirban Sen

NEW YORK (Reuters) — SentinelOne (NYSE:S) Inc, a cybersecurity company with a market value of $4.2 billion, has been exploring options that could include a sale, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Mountain View, California-based company became a takeover target after its shares lost 80% of their value in the last two years. It had benefited from a bonanza in technology spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled by remote work, which fizzled as companies slashed their information technology budgets as the economy slowed.

SentinelOne has hired investment bank Qatalyst Partners to advise on discussions with potential acquirers, including private equity firms, the sources said.

Initial expressions of interest did not meet SentinelOne's valuation expectations, and it is possible that the company ends the talks without a deal, one of the sources added. The sources did not specify the price SentinelOne has been seeking.

Spokespeople for SentinelOne and Qatalyst did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

SentinelOne, which was launched in Israel in 2013, protects laptops and mobile phones from security breaches by using artificial intelligence to identify unusual behavior in enterprise networks. It competes with CrowdStrike Holdings (NASDAQ:CRWD) Inc, and its customers include major companies and the U.S. government.

Backed by Daniel Loeb's hedge fund Third Point and venture capital firms including Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital, SentinelOne listed in the U.S. stock market in 2021 at a $8.9 billion valuation.

But investor excitement soon turned to disappointment as the company struggled to become profitable as it kept its prices low with clients to win market share.