BioCatch Reaches $1.3B Valuation with Permira’s Stake Purchase

Permira, a private equity corporation based in the United Kingdom, is the new majority shareholder of digital fraud detection company BioCatch

BioCatch is valued at $1.3 billion, and Permira is acquiring shares “primarily” from existing investors, including Bain Capital, Maverick Ventures, and Tech Opportunities, in a secondary market transaction. 

In addition to Sapphire Ventures and Macquarie Capital, BioCatch has gained new shareholders. However, the firms did not disclose the specific magnitude of this investment increase.

Additionally, Permira declined to reveal the extent of its current dominant ownership in BioCatch. 

This is the second significant private equity transaction in the cybersecurity industry to be announced in less than a week. Thoma Bravo announced last Friday its intention to acquire Darktrace for $5 billion, taking the United Kingdom-based cybersecurity firm private. 

In a similar secondary market transaction with existing investors, Permira acquired a “significant minority stake” in BioCatch last year, becoming the company’s third-largest shareholder after Bain and Maverick.

According to reports from the time, BioCatch surpassed a valuation of $1 billion at that juncture. Subsequently, investors have increased the Israeli cybersecurity firm’s valuation. 

BioCatch, headquartered in Tel Aviv, was established in 2011 to manufacture technology that enables organizations, including banks, to monitor users’ online activities to verify a consumer’s legitimacy.

This feature can help detect malicious programs, such as those employing “credential stuffing” techniques to access online bank accounts. 

Financial behemoths, including American Express, HSBC, Barclays, Citi, and National Australia Bank, have contributed to the company’s more than $200 million in funding to date. 

This is Permira’s largest known acquisition since approximately two years ago when it acquired email security firm Mimecast for $5.8 billion in a private placement. Permira asserts that, through its investment and majority shareholder status, it will infuse BioCatch with a “growth mindset” and further European expansion. 

“In line with Permira’s longstanding commitment to cybersecurity, online fraud detection, customer identity, and access management have emerged as prominent areas of concentration,” Stefan Dziarski, co-head, and partner of Permira Growth Opportunities, said in a press release.

We have followed BioCatch with great interest for several years, and since early 2023, when we became shareholders, our confidence in the company, its technology leadership, growth potential, and management team continues to increase.”