In the first major cybersecurity acquisition of 2020, Israeli company Armis has been acquired by private equity firm Insight Partners.
Under the terms of the agreement, Insight will acquire the company for cash at a valuation of $1.1bn, with participation from CapitalG for $100m and rollover from certain existing stockholders.
The deal represents the largest ever acquisition of a private Israeli cybersecurity company and is also the biggest enterprise IoT security software acquisition to date. Closing is expected to occur in February.
Armis was founded in late 2015 with a mission to help enterprises adopt new connected devices without fear of being compromised by cyber threat actors. The company, which is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, counts numerous Fortune 1000 companies among its clients.
Following the acquisition, Armis will continue to operate independently and will be fully managed by its two co-founders—Yevgeny Dibrov, CEO, and Nadir Izrael, CTO—and the executive team. Going forward, the C-suite will have the support of Insight's business strategy and ScaleUp division, OnsiteSupport.
This heady mix of freedom with an optional shoulder to lean on was a deal-maker for Armis' Dibrov.
He said: "Insight is one of the most sophisticated software investors in the sector, and it is due to the depth of their domain expertise that they really understand the enterprise IoT device challenge we are looking to solve, and the size of the market opportunity.
"We considered growth rounds and strategic offers, but by partnering with Insight we have the best of both worlds—operational support and independence, both of which were important in our decision to take on a scaleup partner this early in our company journey."
Insight Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software companies with a reputation for driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, the firm currently has over $20 billion in assets under management and has cumulatively invested in more than 300 companies worldwide.
Teddie Wardi, managing director at Insight, said: "We've spoken with their users, who have told us how powerful the Armis platform is at device discovery, classification, and continuous threat assessment. In a world of unmanaged devices, Armis' technology is a game changer."