BUCHAREST (Romania), December 4 (SeeNews) – European private equity firm Vitruvian Partners has acquired a 30% stake in Romanian Internet software security company Bitdefender.
The transaction is valued at $180 million (152 million euro) and is pending approval from Romania's anti-trust body, Bitdefender said in a press release on Monday.
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Vitruvian has bought the 30% stake from existing shareholder Axxess Capital who valued the company at over $600 million.
The investment comes on the back of significant expansion of Bitdefender’s global operations and product offering, the company said.
"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," Bitdefender founder and CEO Florin Talpes said.
Following the acquisition, Vitruvian becomes the second-largest shareholder with co-founders Mariuca and Florin Talpes continuing to hold a majority stake. A group of private investors hold a minority stake in the company.
"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," Vitruvian Partners partner Stephen Byrne commented.
Axxess Capital managing partner Horia Manda added: "We are honoured 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. 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 was founded in 2001 by Romanian entrepreneur Florin Talpes and his wife Mariuca and is currently represented through subsidiaries and partners in over 150 countries. Its products include anti-virus and anti-spyware solutions, anti-theft systems and backup for corporate and home use for more than 500 million users.
Vitruvian is an independent pan-European private equity firm which invests mostly in companies undergoing growth and change typically driven by technology. 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.
Axxess Capital is an investment adviser with 15 years of experience in South East Europe, having invested over 250 million euro through three private equity funds. Targeted sectors have ranged from financial services to manufacturing, IT&C and FMCG, with a commitment to sustain local and regional expansion of portfolio companies.
($=0.8441 euro)