IT security firm Sophos rises after $100 mln Invincea deal

LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - British IT security company Sophos has agreed to buy malware protection company Invincea for $100 million to bolster its product line and give it a stronger presence in the U.S. government, healthcare and financial services sector.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Sophos rose 5.5 percent to a four-month high of 287 pence, topping the mid-cap index, after the deal was announced on Wednesday.

Sophos chief executive Kris Hagerman said Invincea's machine learning-based threat detection technology would be rapidly integrated into its product line, representing a significant growth opportunity for the company.

The deal, which includes a $20 million earn-out in addition to the $100 million cash payment, came as Sophos reported a 16 percent rise in third-quarter billings to $164.1 million.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle, editing by James Davey)