Israeli cybersecurity company Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP) today announced that it is acquiring Israeli email security solutions company Avanan. The acquisition, Check Point's largest for many years, which is reportedly for $270-280 million in cash and shares, will improve protection on Check Point products from malicious emails.
Avanan was founded in 2015 by CEO Gil Freidrich, CTO Avi Zelovich, VP Product Roy Rotem and chief privacy officer Michael Landewe. The company has developed AI-based technology to block in the cloud emails containing malicious links - the largest source of cyberattacks in organizations - and prevents users from clicking on the links. Avanan currently serves 5,000 customers and protects 2.5 million email boxes. Avanan also protects malicious links appearing in enterprise team applications like Slack, Google Drive and Microsoft Teams.
This is a successful exit for the entrepreneurs and investors who include StageOne Ventures, Greenfield Partners and Magma Venture Partners. According to PitchBook, between 2014 and 2018, these funds invested $41.4 million in Avanan for a 66% stake. Thus the exit reflects returns of four times their investment for these funds. At the time of the company's last financing round in 2018, Avanan had a valuation of $100 million, so the cybersecurity company has nearly tripled in value since then.
Friedrich said, Avanan’s journey to reinvent email security is starting a whole new chapter. By merging with Check Point Software, we are combining Avanan’s best in class AI that catches the sophisticated email-borne attacks everyone else misses, with Check Point Software’s unparalleled security capabilities and threat intelligence. With Check Point Software’s global organization, we plan to bring our joint solution to all organizations, of all sizes and geographies, to anyone that needs better security for their email and collaboration suite."
Check Point chief product officer Dr. Dorit Dor added, "More and more businesses are moving to cloud-email platforms and with email becoming a major channel to launch devastating cyberattacks, this acquisition represents a huge potential as organizations are looking for a new approach to email and collaboration suite security. By integrating Avanan into Check Point Infinity, organizations will be able to modernize legacy solutions with email security as-a-service and protect cloud email and collaboration suites from the most sophisticated attacks. We’ve been using the Avanan technology as an OEM for the last 3 years and I am confident that with this new addition, customers will enjoy the best email security with the best cybersecurity capabilities."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 30, 2021
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