Hellman & Friedman to Acquire Cybersecurity Leader Checkmarx at a $1.15B Valuation

Checkmarx, the global leader in software security solutions for DevOps, yesterday announced that Hellman & Friedman (“H&F”) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Company from Insight Partners, which will continue to own a substantial minority interest. The deal represents the largest acquisition of an application security company to date.

The acquisition will bolster the company’s already outstanding growth at a time when software security has never been more critical for modern enterprises building out their software solutions. Checkmarx enables organizations to deliver secure software faster, by making security excellence intrinsic to software development. By bringing to light vulnerabilities within software solutions, Checkmarx is a critical ally to the developers and application security experts of the world’s leading brands discovering and reporting security threats before disaster strikes.

“This acquisition is a clear testament to Checkmarx’s inimitable global team who have ensured our leadership position in software security, as well as to the significant role our technology plays in the broader cybersecurity industry,” said Emmanuel Benzaquen, CEO of Checkmarx. “With more corporations leveraging software development to scale their businesses than ever before, executives are acutely aware of the increased risks caused by software exposure. More than 40 of the Fortune 100 have turned to Checkmarx to mitigate risk, secure code, and embed security into every aspect of their software development. We are thrilled to partner with H&F in our journey that takes our ‘software equals security’ vision to the next level.”

Checkmarx was founded in 2006 and led since by Benzaquen and Maty Siman, Founder and CTO. It employs more than 700 employees and is trusted by over 1,400 customers in 70 countries. The company is a leader in Application Security Testing with a robust suite of solutions for modern enterprise development.

“We are thrilled to be joining forces with Emmanuel, Maty, and the entire Checkmarx team,” said Hellman & Friedman Partner, Tarim Wasim. “As cybersecurity threats continue to intensify, we strongly believe that embedding security early in the software development lifecycle is critical. Only one company – Checkmarx – has the breadth of products, developer-centric DNA, and culture of relentless innovation to serve the entire software security market. We look forward to building on Checkmarx’s tremendous success to date and supporting the company’s rapid growth in the years ahead.”

“Checkmarx technology is mission critical to any business that is developing or integrating software, and from even before we invested in the Company in 2015, we have been continuously impressed by the leadership to come out of this team of game changers and innovators,” Insight Partners Managing Director Richard Wells said. “Maty and Emmanuel are two of the cybersecurity industry’s top operators and we have been thrilled to have supported their stratospheric growth over the last five years. We will remain active supporters and vocal champions of the Checkmarx team.”

Evercore Group L.L.C. acted as lead financial advisor and Stifel as advisor for this transaction. RBC Capital Markets acted as lead financial advisor and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as legal counsel to H&F. HFN acted as legal counsel to Checkmarx and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP acted as legal counsel to Insight Partners.

Main Picture: Maty and Emmanuel_Checkmarx