Big data company Varonis Inc. is planning to raise $100-150 million at a company value of $500 million in a Wall Street IPO. The company has chosen the underwriters for the offering, which may be held before the end of this year.
Varonis is one of the more interesting and successful Israeli high-tech companies in recent years. Headquartered in New York City, and with its development center in Herzliya, the company's quiet conduct over the years has resulted in an air of mystery around it. Varonis was founded in 2005 by president and CEO Yaki Faitelson and CTO Ohad Korkus. It targets one the less handled sides of security - access authorization to an enterprise's files. The company's solution allows enterprises to manage and control access to information files with an emphasis on sensitive information, and prevent its unauthorized distribution.
Varonis has raised only $30 million over years, from Pitango Venture Capital, Evergreen Venture Partners, and Accel Partners, and also secured a strategic investment from EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC). The low investment means that the investors and entrepreneurs will make a respectable return on the exit.
Varonis's solutions belong to the same category as those of Imperva Inc. (NYSE: IMPV), which is currently traded at a p/e ratio of 8-9. Varonis is profitable and had $55 million in sales in 2012. It has 450 employees.
Varonis was in acquisition talks a year ago with IBM Corporation (NYSE: IBM) at a company value of $450 million. Although no deal was reached, no one will be surprised if Varonis, like other companies in its field, ultimately ends up as part of IBM or another computer giant.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 8, 2013
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