"Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard."
-Guy Kawasaki
November 22,2016
Optiv Files for IPO
Financial Information*
- 2015 Revenue $947.3 million
- 2016 Revenue through 9/30 $643.8 million
Transaction Facts
- Security solution provider Optiv, Inc. filed an S-1 registration filing with the SEC Friday, announcing its intent to sell shares on the NYSE under the ticker “OPTV.”
- Though the total number of shares to be offered and their price were not listed, Optiv is seeking up to $100 million from the sale.
- Proceeds from the sale are to be spent on paying down debt, which as of Sept. 30 was listed at approximately $651 million, and investing in “short-term demand deposits.”
Security Remains Key Priority
- The Next Step: Optiv is a major player in the security solutions space, initially formed through the combination of Accuvant and FishNet in early 2015. The transaction, facilitated by Accuvant owner Blackstone, was an example of using private equity resources to assume size and take advantage of economies of scale.
Bulked Up for Public Consumption: Blackstone has grown Optiv through M&A, acquiring this year identity and access management company Advancive, third-party risk application company Evantix and security solution provider Adaptive Communications. The company continues to pursue more services-based revenue, seeing its future as a comprehensive solutions provider.- Rare With Few Exceptions: This IPO filing (and that of Presidio, reported today), is a rarity in today’s economy, which has primarily seen sale exits rather than companies going public. A notable exception also in the security space was Dell managed security provider SecureWorks, which was the first US tech IPO in 2016 (Nasdaq: SCWX). Today, that company is trading at a price 10 percent lower than its IPO price.
For more information about this transaction, click here to read the S1 filing.
martinwolf was not the advisor in this transaction.
