Israeli cyber security analytics company Skybox Security has received a $96 million investment from US private equity firm Providence Strategic Growth (PSG). Some of the company's shareholders have sold the controlling stake in Skybox for $80 million to PSG, which has invested an additional $16 million in the company.
Skybox Security develops software solutions that extract insight from cybersecurity data to give visibility of an enterprise's attack surface, and reveal the ways in which its IT systems are vulnerable to threats.
Skybox was founded in Israel in 2002 by CEO Gidi Cohen, Moshe Meiseles, and Eran Reshef. Today Skybox, which has a parent company headquartered in Silicon Valley has its development center in Herzliya Pituach. The company has 120 employees, half of them in Israel.
The Skybox Security Suite solves cyber security problems by integrating with more than 90 networking and security tools in use by enterprises today. The Suite utilizes advanced analytics, such as modelling and simulation, to extract relevant and actionable intelligence from the silos of data created by those tools, giving security leaders the most comprehensive view of their attack surface and the insight needed to quickly make informed decisions about where to direct security resources.
PSG managing director Thomas Reardon said, "Skybox is on the leading edge of a security segment that's highly relevant right now, given the high-profile network security breaches that have occurred at numerous large enterprises."
According to recent analysis, IDC estimates that the security and vulnerability management market alone will reach $6.5 billion in 2018 and continue to grow at a rate exceeding 10 percent.
Reardon added, "Skybox Security innovations in network visualization and intelligence are reshaping how large enterprises manage their security programs. The company is also showing very strong business performance, with impressive top-line growth, profitability and incredibly high customer acquisition and retention rates."
In four years, Skybox has grown its acquisition rate of new customers by 220% and revenue by 221%. In 2015, the company increased year-over-year sales by 55%, fueled by a 59% increase in deals valued more than $100,000 and a 165% increase in deals valued more than $500,000.
Skybox customers are Global 2000 companies and government agencies, in more than 50 countries and nearly every industry. The company's products are used by six of the top 10 global banks, 10 global telecommunications firms, five of the world's largest consumer goods manufacturers and 10 of the largest energy providers globally.
With the investment, Mark Hastings and Thomas Reardon, managing directors with PSG, will join the Skybox board of directors.
Gidi Cohen said, "This deal is a great validation of our strategic vision for the company, the success of our technology in the market and our ability to execute. We've been on an incredible upward trajectory, and the investment will accelerate that growth. I've no doubt, with the innovations we're bringing to market this year and next, Skybox will become the undisputed leader in security analytics."
The company has raised $138 million to date and investors include Benchmark Capital, Carmel Ventures, Valley Fund, and Mitsubishi Fund.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 3, 2016
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