Accuvant and FishNet Security join to create new company
Accuvant and FishNet Security have signed a definitive agreement to join forces and create a new, combined company.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015 pending relevant regulatory approvals.
Blackstone private equity funds will maintain majority ownership in the combined company. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. However, current investors of both organizations, including existing management, the private equity firm Sverica International and FishNet Security’s corporate owner, Investcorp, are maintaining minority equity interests in the new, combined company.
“Attack vectors are changing, becoming more targeted and sophisticated, and there is a defined shortage of resources in the industry. As a result, organizations are left exposed to very real risks that can impact their businesses and customers,” said Rich Fennessy, FishNet Security chief executive officer. “Together, FishNet Security and Accuvant will be better positioned to provide holistic, high-value, and integrated security solutions that cover all aspects of cyber defense. We believe that we will be able to accelerate innovation and help customers to more adequately address information security concerns.”
The new, combined company will have depth, breadth, scale, financial resources, and the industry’s most talented people to research and solve specific or complex customer security problems, as well as those of the industry at large. It will bring together:
- More than 1,400 total employees focused on serving customers;
- More than 650 highly skilled consultants and engineers, delivering a full suite of information security risk and compliance consulting, as well as managed security services and product services;
- Best practices and real-world experience gained from working with more than 10,000 customers of various sizes across multiple industries;
- Partnerships with all of the leading security product manufacturers; and
- 60 offices, training and security operations locations across the United States and Canada.
“The economic and reputational risks associated with successful cyber-attacks are real and require that all institutions focus on defending their most valued assets,” said Dave Johnson, senior managing director in Blackstone’s Private Equity Group. “Blackstone is very focused on maintaining a best practice position regarding cyber security – for our own networks as well as across our portfolio. We have been leveraging Accuvant’s extensive capabilities over the past several months and will look to the new, combined organization to expand the strategies that protect our organization. We believe this is a great move for everyone involved, and look forward to providing incremental investments that allow the new, combined company to continue to expand its capabilities, offerings and operations.”
Upon the closing of the transaction, Accuvant chief executive officer Dan Burns will become the chief executive officer of the new, combined company. Once the transaction has closed, FishNet Security chief executive officer Rich Fennessy will remain onboard as an advisor to assist in the integration effort. The combined company’s management team is expected to draw upon the experienced group of leaders from both companies. The combined company’s name, marketing brand and corporate headquarters location are expected to be determined during the integration process.