"Only in growth, reform and change, paradoxically enough, is true security to be found."
-Anne Morrow Lindbergh
March 11,2014
Blackstone to Acquire Accuvant
martinwolf Transaction Analysis
Financial Overview*
- Transaction Size: $150 million*
Transaction Facts
- Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX) today entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Accuvant from current investor Sverica International.
- Blackstone, which is the world’s largest private equity firm, is reportedly investing $150 million for a stake in Accuvant exceeding 80 percent.
- Accuvant’s current majority investor, Sverica International LLC, will retain equity in the company and their return will significantly exceed its total investment of $20 million.
- Accuvant’s management is also investing in the transaction.
Wary Investors Look to Enhance Data Security
- High Stakes, High Demand: Major data security scandals such as the hacking attacks at major retailers last year Target and Neiman Marcus, as well as ongoing disclosures about government scrutiny have led many investors to look to data security and encryption to protect themselves.
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Reinvention Led To Success: Accuvant underwent an internal reorganization in 2012, elevating CEO Dan Burns and bringing in current CFO David Roshak, who had previously served as CFO for iBAHN and Software Spectrum. Their changes led to a strong 2013 and a successful acquisition today.
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Strong Incentive for VARs to Refocus: The deal shows an appetite by Private Equity investors for VARs that have been able to grow services businesses from their existing accounts. Accuvant was able to secure a premium by integrating security services capabilities along with its traditional product offerings. This follows similar successful PE-VAR pairings including that of CompuCom and Fishnet Security.
For more information, read the press release here. martinwolf was not the advisor in this transaction.
*Transaction Size was not disclosed, but sources reported that the equity portion of the transaction was worth $150 million.
