Cybersecurity remains a hot area for investors, and in the latest example of that demand, EQT has acquired a majority stake in Acronis, a security company that specializes in data protection, cloud and integrated security solutions for managed service providers (which resell services to consumers) and enterprise IT teams.
The size or value of the stake or Acronis' enterprise value was not disclosed. EQT and Acronis said the transaction values Acronis at a higher than its previously disclosed valuation of $3.5 billion, which was based on 2022 investments.
To give some background on the growth, Acronis itself says that its solutions are currently used by 20,000 service providers and more than 750,000 enterprises. It said it had 5.5 million “home users” and 500,000 enterprise customers in 2022, and 10,000 service providers in 2021. The number of employees has increased from 1,700 in 2022 to 2,000 today. Acronis President Gaider Magdanurov told TechCrunch that annual recurring revenue from the company's cloud business is growing by 40%.
The company told TechCrunch it was profitable in 2021. Prior to this latest deal, the company had raised more than $600 million in equity and debt financing. Its investors include BlackRock, CVC and Goldman Sachs.
“The founders, management team and several existing investors, including BlackRock, CVC and Springcoast, will remain as minority shareholders,” Magdanurov told TechCrunch, adding that founders Serg Bel (formerly Sergey Belousov) and Stanislav Protasov will also retain significant stakes in the company.
“Today's announcement marks a major step forward. For founders Stanislav and me, it has always been important to us to find a partner that perfectly aligns with Acronis' culture and vision,” Bell said in a statement to TechCrunch. “As the volume and intensity of cyber threats continues to grow, we believe Acronis is uniquely positioned as the platform of choice for service providers to profitably protect and operate their clients' information technology infrastructure.”
He added that the two founders will now be focusing more on Constructor Group, another project focused on AI and metaverse applications.
The deal has been a long time in the making and highlights how private equity remains a highly popular exit option for enterprise technology companies at a time when IPO opportunities remain largely closed.
Acronis has been around since 2003, originally starting out in Singapore before being re-incorporated in Switzerland. It originally started as a spin-off of Russian-founded virtualization specialist Parallels, with a focus on data recovery and backup. Over the years, it has expanded into a one-stop service provider that includes continuous data protection, cloud security, endpoint protection, patch management, malware protection, and more. Competitors include Commvault, Veritas, and others.
Acronis will continue to operate with a significant investment from EQT.
“We are thrilled that EQT has become a major shareholder, supporting our strategic expansion and sharing our vision for growth,” Acronis' current CEO Ezekiel Steiner said in a statement. “We're grateful for their support so far and are pleased that many of their investors will continue to invest in us as we move forward. But most of all, I want to thank the Acronis team for guiding the company to this stage.”
“Acronis is a powerful cybersecurity and data protection software platform that offers a clear value proposition for managed service providers,” added Johannes Reichel, Partner and Co-Head of Technology in EQT's PE team. The CEO of the advisory team said, “EQT has followed the company's journey for many years and continues to be impressed with its performance and ability to innovate. We are excited to partner with Acronis, the management team and existing investors in its next phase of growth.”