Home and enterprise security solutions provider Bitdefender has been valued at over $600 million after growth capital investment firm Vitruvian Partners acquired a stake of roughly 30 percent in the company from existing shareholder Axxess Capital.
Through the acquisition, Vitruvian has become the second-largest shareholder after co-founders Florin and Mariuca Talpes. A group of private investors holds a minority stake in Bitdefender.
“This transaction demonstrates the rapid growth and scale of our business as we are now valued at over $600 million,” said Florin Talpes, who also serves as the company’s CEO. “Vitruvian’s extensive experience investing in high growth technology companies endorses our strategy for international growth and in particular the significant investment we are making in building our Enterprise Solutions offering and our presence in the United States.”
“We continue to operate with a sound financial footing – this enables us to further expand and broaden our product portfolio and so ensure we stay ahead of cyber criminals to protect better our customers,” he added.
A Bitdefender spokesperson told SecurityWeek that the deal was a secondary transaction between shareholders, so funds will not go into Bitdefender itself.
Axxess Capital sold its shares after an 8-year run. Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch acted as the financial advisor for the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals.
Bitdefender’s main office is in Romania and its enterprise solutions headquarters is located in the United States, in Santa Clara, California. The cybersecurity firm employs more than 1,300 people, and its products are said to be used by over 500 million users in 150 countries.
Vitruvian is an independent European private equity firm that specializes in investing in companies undergoing growth and change. The company provides operational support and assistance with acquisitions and other strategic initiatives.
Related: Bitdefender Offers Up to $1,500 in Public Bug Bounty Program
Related: Bitdefender Unveils Hypervisor-Based Memory Introspection Technology