For PhishMe, going the private equity route just made sense given the resources and expertise gained.
The Leesburg, Va. cybersecurity startup was acquired by a group of private equity firms Monday in a deal that values PhishMe at $400 million, and as a result, the startup has rebranded to Cofense. Through the deal, the company expects to keep staffing the same and to remain in the D.C. metro area.
According to a report in Fortune, Pamplona Capital Management purchased a two-thirds stake, while BlackRock bought the remainder. Cofense could not confirm which firms are a part of this deal.
Both Darren Battistoni, a partner at Pamplona, and Muhammad Mian, managing director at BlackRock, are now listed as members of the company's board of directors on its website.
By Cofense Chief Technology Officer Aaron Higbee's account, the $400 million value of this acquisition is 7x larger than the startup's 2017 revenue. And since founding in 2011, the company has raised $58 million.
"We're pleased by the valuation and what it means," Higbee said in an interview with DC Inno. "We're on track to hit our revenue goals of this year of $100 million in annual recurring revenue, and it looks like we have everything laid out ahead of us."
Cofense started by providing technology that teaches people how to catch phishing attacks and keep companies safe from attacks as a result. Now, with the rebrand, the plan is to broaden the product offerings.
"If you look at our technologies and solutions, we help companies prepare their employees to recognize and report suspicious emails," Higbee said.
Higbee also says the workforce won't change, which currently sits at 465 employees worldwide. They just moved into a headquarters in early 2018 that's quadruple the size of their last space, and, if anything, they plan to accelerate their company plans.
"Anytime employees or workers hear about acquisitions, there's always a cloud of worry," Higbee said. "We're happy that our headquarters is remaining in Leesburg."
