---
title: "Proofpoint agrees to buy Varonis for $6.3 billion in cash to protect company data from AI agents"
url: https://anawords.com/story/proofpoint-to-acquire-varonis-6-3-billion-ai-data-security
published: 2026-10-16T14:17:48+05:30
updated: 2026-10-16T14:17:48+05:30
section: Business & Funding
author: Mayank Sahu
checked: sources checked by AI, approved by editor
version: 1
---

# Proofpoint agrees to buy Varonis for $6.3 billion in cash to protect company data from AI agents

The $49.75-a-share offer is 52% above Varonis’s price before sale rumours began in June. The deal needs shareholder and regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

**In short:** Proofpoint agreed on 15 October 2026 to acquire data security company Varonis for $49.75 a share in cash, about $6.3 billion. The price is 52% above Varonis’s close on 22 June, before sale rumours. Both companies frame the deal around protecting data from AI agents.

## The deal

Proofpoint, a cybersecurity company owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, agreed on 15 October 2026 to buy Varonis Systems for $49.75 a share in cash, valuing it at about $6.3 billion.[^1][^2]

According to the announcement filed by Varonis:[^1]

- The price is 52% above Varonis’s close of $32.71 on 22 June 2026, the last full trading day before sale rumours.
- It is 17% above the $42.35 close on 1 September, before further media reports.
- Varonis’s board approved the deal. It still needs shareholder and regulatory approval.
- It is expected to close in the first half of 2027, after which Varonis will leave Nasdaq.

## Why AI agents are the pitch

Varonis sells software that tracks who can reach sensitive company data. Proofpoint chief executive Sumit Dhawan said AI creates risk on two fronts: attackers using AI to move faster, and companies giving AI agents wide access to sensitive data.[^2] He called the deal “a defining step in Proofpoint’s evolution into a cybersecurity platform built for the future of AI”.[^1]

Varonis chief executive Yaki Faitelson said: “Our mission is to secure AI and the data that powers it.”[^1]

## Advisers

Goldman Sachs advised Varonis. BofA Securities, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, UBS and Mizuho advised Proofpoint.[^1]

## What is not known

How Proofpoint will combine the two product lines, and whether jobs will be cut.

## Fact ledger

- [Confirmed] Proofpoint will buy Varonis for $49.75 a share in cash, about $6.3 billion. (source 1,2)
- [Confirmed] The price is 52% above Varonis’s 22 June close of $32.71. (source 1)
- [Confirmed] The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027. (source 1,2)
- [Confirmed] The deal needs Varonis shareholder and regulatory approval. (source 1,2)
- [Not known] Plans for products and staff after the deal.

## Sources

1. [Varonis and Proofpoint announcement (SEC Form 8-K exhibit)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001361113/000121390026109901/ea030861001ex99-1.htm) — official
2. [CyberScoop: Proofpoint to acquire Varonis](https://cyberscoop.com/proofpoint-acquires-varonis-systems-data-security/)