US-Israeli cybersecurity firm ForeScout files for Nasdaq IPO
Prospectus targets a $100 million IPO goal for the Tel Aviv and Silicon Valley-based company
Shoshanna Solomon was The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter
Tel Aviv- and California-based ForeScout Technologies, Inc., a cybersecurity firm, has filed a prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to hold an initial public offering of shares on the Nasdaq exchange.
The company filed a prospectus on October 2, and said it hopes to hold a share sale to the public, raising up to $100 million. The figure released in the filings is generally a ballpark figure that could be updated in later filings. Calcalist news website said the offering would lead the company to a valuation of around $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion.
Last year, ForeScout said it had raised $76 million in additional financing, bringing it to a reported valuation of $1 billion.
With R&D based in central Tel Aviv, Silicon Valley-based ForeScout has become a world leader in network access control – preventing any internet-connected device, such as computers or phones, from joining a network unless it has the right credentials. It also offers enterprises and government organizations the ability to view devices when they connect to the network. The firm serves customers of all sizes across a variety of industries, the prospectus said.
Founded in June 2000, the company has raised some $132.4 million to date and employs some 500 workers globally, selling its products in Europe, America and the UK among others. Investors include Pitango Venture Capital, Accel Venture Capital and Wellington Management Company LLP, according to data compiled by Start-up Nation Central, which tracks the industry.
Revenues at end 2016 were $166.8 million, with the company registering double-digit sales growth year over year since 2014, according to the prospectus. In the first half of the year the company posted sales of almost $91 million and a loss of $47.7 million.
