“In an era of constant connectivity and eroding boundaries between a professional and personal digital life, it is critical to have email protection that is both broad and deep. The acquisition of Weblife.io gives us greater ability to help protect our customers from today’s rapidly evolving cyberattacks, as cybercriminals look for new ways to abuse email channels. We are thrilled to welcome Weblife.io’s employees to the Proofpoint team.”
– Gary Steele, Chief Executive Officer, Proofpoint
“Organizations are having to confront the reality that employees will check their personal email from the corporate network, and will also use their corporate devices to check their email at home after work, on the road, and everywhere in between. By combining Proofpoint’s advanced threat detection capabilities with our unique browser isolation solution, enterprises can now secure both corporate and personal email from advanced threats and compliance risks.”
– David Melnick, Chief Executive Officer, Weblife.io
– David Melnick, Chief Executive Officer, Weblife.io
Transaction Overview
- On November 29th, 2017, Proofpoint, Inc. (NASDAQ: PFPT) entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Weblife.io ("Weblife") for $60 million
- Weblife is a Santa Monica, California-based leader in browser isolation solutions founded in 2013 by David Melnick, the former head of Deloitte's private security service. The company provides a cloud-based web isolation platform for endpoint security that separates browsing activity on an intermediary to deliver a filtered, proxied, anonymous and secure internet
- Weblife's browser isolation technology protects the web browser by securely rendering only passive content like HTML to the endpoint, preventing downloads or uploads. The platform enables organizations to grant employees safe, anonymous internet access while protecting their network through remote browser technology, which Gartner identified as one of the top 10 security technologies of 2017
- The company's solution helps organizations comply with regulations including the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by allowing them to forego employee monitoring and protect the anonymity of sensitive employee data
- Weblife had 25-100 employees at the time of acquisition. The company was backed by NordicEye and other investors
- The acquisition was expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017 and was subject to customary closing conditions
- Proofpoint, Inc. is a Sunnyvale, California-based leading next-generation cybersecurity company that provides cloud-based solutions to protect organizations from advanced attacks and compliance risks
- Proofpoint does not expect the transaction to have a material impact on billings, revenue, net income and free cash flow for both Q4 2017 and FY 2018
Transaction Significance
- With this acquisition, Proofpoint extended its industry leading advanced threat protection capabilities to personal email. Thousands of enterprise customers rely on Proofpoint's advanced email security solutions to protect corporate email; however, their employees frequently also use their work laptops to access their personal email, leaving corporate systems and data potentially vulnerable to attack through this alternative channel
- By combining Weblife.io's browser-isolation technology with Proofpoint's industry leading threat detection and intelligence capabilities, enterprises can now secure both corporate and personal email from advanced threats and compliance risks. The integrated solution became a separate module within the Targeted Attack Protection (TAP) advanced threat suite, and became available in the first half of 2018
- Unique combination of browser isolation and advanced threat detection delivers comprehensive protection from both malware and credential stealing phishing links
- Fully cloud-based deployment protects users working both on and off the corporate network while delivering a seamless user experience
- Native privacy protections allow organizations to protect users and corporate assets from threats while preserving end-user privacy and complying with global data privacy regulations such as GDPR
- As email remains the number one threat vector, Proofpoint is committed to helping customers stay protected from the ever-growing proliferation of email-related attacks, from malware to phishing to email fraud
- Weblife's platform allows organizations to segment and isolate employee web use rather than restrict it, reducing risk from employees' web activity while granting greater freedom and anonymity. The solution also reduces litigation and e-discovery risk by limiting unnecessary data collection
Momentum Cyber's Role
- Momentum Cyber served as exclusive financial and strategic advisor to Weblife
If you’re navigating a critical inflection point in cybersecurity growth, M&A, or capital strategy, Momentum Cyber brings unmatched sector expertise and senior-level advisory to every engagement. Let us advise you today and help you maximize value with confidence in an increasingly complex cyber landscape.