At a glance.
- Arctic Wolf to acquire Cylance from BlackBerry for $160 million.
- Israeli spyware vendor Paragon acquired by US private equity firm.
- Check Point names a new CEO.
Mergers and acquisitions.
Minnesota-based cybersecurity provider Arctic Wolf has agreed to acquire Cylance's endpoint security assets from BlackBerry for $160 million. TechCrunch notes that BlackBerry paid $1.4 billion to acquire Cylance in 2018. BlackBerry CEO John Giammatteo said in a statement, "Our customers will realize the benefits of continuity of service and the expertise that a global cybersecurity leader like Arctic Wolf provides. Arctic Wolf benefits by adding Cylance’s endpoint security solutions to its native platform. Finally, as Arctic Wolf leverages its scale to build upon and grow the Cylance business, BlackBerry will benefit as a reseller of the portfolio to our large government customers and as a shareholder of the company."
Calcalist reports that Florida-based private equity firm AE Industrial Partners has acquired secretive Israeli spyware vendor Paragon for $500 million, though the deal's total value could reach $900 million depending on growth and profitability milestones. Paragon’s American unit will merge with AE portfolio company RED Lattice, a cybersecurity firm based in Virginia. Haaretz notes that Paragon is NSO Group's largest competitor, though it keeps a much lower profile. The company doesn't have a website, and AE Industrial Partners hasn't commented on the reported deal. Forbes first reported on Paragon's existence in 2021, stating that the company was founded by former members of Israel's Unit 8200.
Sunnyvale, California-headquartered cybersecurity company Fortinet has acquired Israeli email security firm Perception Point for $100 million, Calcalist reports. Fortinet said in a press release, "Delivered through a cloud-native architecture, the addition of this solution to the Fortinet Security Fabric will add to our user-facing security capabilities by broadening protections across diverse communication channels, including collaboration applications, cloud storage applications, messaging platforms, and social networks."
Florida-headquartered critical infrastructure cybersecurity firm OPSWAT has acquired Virginia-based OT security company Fend Incorporated. The company stated, "The announcement establishes OPSWAT as providing the most comprehensive variety of Data Diodes and Unidirectional Gateways in the industry that utilizes proprietary technology like Multiscanning with up to 30 anti-virus engines, Deep CDR™ for zero-day threats, Sandboxing, and Proactive DLP™ technologies prevent sensitive data leakage."
Geneva-headquartered code quality and security company Sonar will acquire Boston-based open-source software security company Tidelift. The company says "[t]he acquisition will extend Sonar’s scope of coverage to include open source libraries, in addition to code written by developers and AI – improving the state of open source software and raising the bar for code quality and security everywhere. "
Investments and exits.
Washington, DC-based email security platform provider Sublime Security has secured $60 million in a Series B round led by IVP, with participation from Citi Ventures and existing investors Index Ventures, Decibel Partners, and Slow Ventures. Sublime has also appointed Colin Jones, former Wiz Chief Revenue Officer, as President. The company says the funding "will support continued investment in Sublime's platform and community."
Canadian threat exposure management company Flare has raised $30 million in a Series B round led by Base10 Partners, with participation from Inovia Capital, White Star Capital, and Fonds de solidarité FTQ. The company stated, "We expect to increase investments in EU expansion while also continuing to further accelerate growth in North America and Europe more broadly to strengthen cybersecurity globally."
Executive moves.
Check Point has named Nadav Zafrir as its new CEO. Check Point's co-founder Gil Shwed, who has served as the company's CEO since its launch in 1993, will transition to executive chairman of the board of directors. Zafrir established the IDF’s Cyber Command and served as Commander of Unit 8200. He most recently co-founded venture capital firm Team8.
N2K Networks has promoted Breanne Winter to Chief Operating Officer.
Onapsis has appointed Paul Kleinschnitz as Chief Revenue Officer.