Romanian cybersecurity technology company Bitdefender has just announced the acquisition of 30 percent stake in their company. European private equity firm Vitruvian Capital has acquired an in the press release published on their website, the Bitdefender team reported that the transaction made by Vitruvian is 600 million US dollars’ worth. That said, Vitruvian now becomes the second-largest shareholder, while company founders Mariuca and Florin Talpes retain the majority stake, Reuters reported. Moreover, Vitruvian bought the shares from the existing shareholder Axxess Capital, Romanian Investment Advisory of private equity funds.
The investment comes following Bitdefender’s significant expansion globally. Founded in 2001 to date, Bitdefender has nine offices worldwide and a network of more than 7,000 reseller partners. Their staff of 1300 employees is supporting customers in over 150 countries; however, the majority of their sales, 40% in total, are made on the US market.
“This transaction demonstrates the rapid growth and scale of our business,” said Florin Talpes, Bitdefender’s founder and 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.”
According to the Stephen Byrne partner at Vitruvian, the acquisition in Bitdefender is in line with their company’s strategy.
“Bitdefender’s achievements are directly in line with what we seek for new investments: support of exceptional management teams in businesses that illustrate a significant opportunity to create strategic value. We look forward to partnering with Florin and the team for the next stage of Bitdefender’s innovation and expansion.”
For Axxess Capital this is a great exit that will help Bitdefender to expand globally.
“We are honored to have joined the Talpes family in turning Bitdefender into a first-rate cyber security solutions provider with products used by people and enterprises alike from all over the world”, Horia Manda, the Managing Partner of Axxess Capitalsaid. “Now that we are making our exit after an 8-year journey, we are confident that with the help of Vitruvian Partners, Bitdefender shall continue to expand globally as a provider of cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions.”
Bitdefender is cybersecurity technology provider that, according to the company, delivers robust security you can rely on. Since 2001 to date, Bitdefender works with government organizations, large enterprises, SMEs, and private individuals in over 150 countries.
Vitruvian, on the other hand, is an independent pan European private equity firm which specializes in ‘dynamic situations’- investments in companies undergoing growth and change typically driven by technology. Vitruvian helps portfolio companies scale their operations by providing an operational support system and assistance with strategic initiatives including acquisitions. Such investments to date include global market leaders in their field such as Just Eat, FarFetch, Skyscanner, Snow Software, CRF Health, Trustpilot, Voxbone, Callcredit, Ebury and others.
Last but not least, Axxess Capital is an investment adviser with 15 years of experience in South East Europe, having invested over EUR 250 million through 3 private equity funds. One of Axxess Capital’s funds is the EUR 110 million Balkan Accession Fund that targeted opportunities in Romania and Bulgaria.