Providence Strategic Growth and Verdane Invest in Hornetsecurity

LONDON & OSLO, Norway & HANOVER, Germanyโ€“Providence Strategic Growth (โ€œPSGโ€), the growth equity affiliate of premier asset management firm Providence Equity Partners (โ€œProvidenceโ€), and Verdane, the specialist Northern European growth equity investor, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for an investment in Hornetsecurity Group (โ€œHornetsecurityโ€), a leading European provider of cloud-based email security and data protection, whereby affiliates of PSG become new shareholders in the Company whereas Verdane re-invests.

Hornetsecurity provides a range of best-in-class products designed to protect businesses against the latest and most sophisticated cyber threats โ€“ including malware and spear phishing. Its flagship offering, 365 Total Protection Suite, is specially developed for Microsoft 365 and can be seamlessly integrated into businessesโ€™ existing email platforms. Hornetsecurity serves both small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs) and larger enterprises, with differentiated product ranges tailored to a range of security needs and team sizes. Since its launch in 2007, Hornetsecurity has sustained strong growth momentum and now employs 200 people serving over 40,000 customers, and has offices in Germany, Spain, Argentina, the US, and the UK.

Daniel Hofmann, Founder and CEO of Hornetsecurity, said, โ€œTodayโ€™s transaction represents a strong vote of confidence in our team, product offering, and business model. We have built a solid technological platform since launching in 2007, expanding our geographic footprint and winning significant customers along the way. With the support of PSG and Verdane, we are now well-positioned to accelerate our growth and enhance our technology. We look forward to working together to deliver even greater value to our customers, partners, employees, and the communities in which we do business.โ€

Dany Rammal, Managing Director at Providence Strategic Growth, said, โ€œHornetsecurity bears all the hallmarks of PSG investments: it is a cutting-edge technology service built and led by strong talent, with a compelling value proposition to blue chip customers, and market leadership in the DACH region. We are pleased to be partnering with Verdane, the founder and the management team on this transaction and look forward to working together to scale up the business organically and through strategic M&A.โ€

Emanuel Johnsson, Partner at Verdane, said, โ€œIt has been a true pleasure working with the team at Hornetsecurity since our initial investment in 2016, having successfully completed four bolt-on acquisitions and expanded operations internationally. We are now pleased to re-invest and, together with PSG, support the management team in the next phase of growth.โ€

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.


About Hornetsecurity Group

Hornetsecurity is a leading German email cloud security provider in Europe, which protects the IT infrastructure, digital communication, and data of companies and organisations of all sizes. The security specialist from Hanover provides its services worldwide via 9 secure datacentres. The product portfolio covers all important areas of email security, including spam and virus filters, legally compliant archiving, and encryption, as well as defence against advanced threats like CEO fraud and ransomware. With around 200 employees, Hornetsecurity is represented globally at 11 locations and operates in more than 30 countries through its international distribution network. The premium services are used by approximately 40,000 customers including Swisscom, Telefรณnica, KONICA MINOLTA, LVM Versicherung, DEKRA and Claas.

About Providence Strategic Growth

Providence Strategic Growth (โ€œPSGโ€) is an affiliate of Providence Equity Partners (โ€œProvidenceโ€). Established in 2014, PSG focuses on growth equity investments in lower middle market software and technology-enabled service companies. Providence is a premier global asset management firm that pioneered a sector-focused approach to private equity investing with the vision that a dedicated team of industry experts could build exceptional companies of enduring value. Since the firmโ€™s inception in 1989, Providence has invested in more than 200 companies and is a leading equity investment firm focused on the media, communications, education and information industries. PSG is headquartered in Boston, MA, with offices in London and Kansas City. For more information on PSG, please visitย https://www.provequity.com/private-equity/psg, and for more information on Providence, please visitย https://www.provequity.com.

About Verdane

Verdane is a specialist growth investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable European businesses. Verdane can invest as a minority or majority investor, either in single companies or through portfolios of companies, and looks to deploy inside two core growth themes; digitalisation and decarbonisation. 

Verdane funds hold over โ‚ฌ6 billion in total commitments and have made over 400 investments in fast-growing businesses since 2003. Verdaneโ€™s team of over 140 investment professionals and operating experts, based out of Berlin, Munich, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo, and Stockholm, is dedicated to being the preferred growth partner to tech-enabled and sustainable businesses in Europe. 

Verdane is also a certified B Corporation, the most ambitious sustainability accreditation globally. The firm only backs businesses that pass its 2040 test, which indicates whether the company can thrive in a more sustainable future economy. 

Verdane is partly owned by the Verdane Foundation, which is focused on two areas: climate change and more equitable and inclusive local communities. 

More info: www.verdane.com โ€ฏ
Follow Verdane on LinkedIn

Press Contact

Hornetsecurity
Micha Beyersdorf
+49 511 515 464-117
contact@hornetsecurity.com

Providence
Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Conrad Harrington/ Giles Bethule
+44 7912 647 473/ +44 7761 385 365
Prov-SVC@sardverb.com

Verdane
Jonathan Bui
+46 76 272 81 00
jonathan.bui@verdane.com

Verdane Team

Latest Insights