ZeroFox, a Baltimore-based external cybersecurity software company, announced plans on Monday to both acquire digital privacy protection company IDX and go public through a SPAC merger with L&F Acquisition Corp. (LNFA).
The equity valuation of the deal is expected to total $1.4 billion. Once the merger is complete, the combined company will rename itself ZeroFox Holdings and will trade under the ticker symbol “ZFOX” likely on the NYSE — which LNFA currently trades on — however, those specifics were not disclosed.
Cybersecurity has been a hot topic this year as the rate of ransomware and other cyberattacks increases. These attacks cost companies millions of dollars, according to a report by IBM which estimated data breaches in 2021 put companies back an average of $4.24 million per incident. That’s 10 percent higher than 2020.
“Since ZeroFox was founded in 2013, we have helped companies address emerging security challenges caused by the transformational shift to a ‘digital everything’ world. This rapid digital transformation has made companies vulnerable to attackers, resulting in the highest breach rate the industry has ever seen,” ZeroFox CEO and Chairman James C. Foster said in a statement.
ZeroFox helps companies tackle new security challenges as enterprises continue to shift to cloud-based networks. The SaaS company focuses on threats from outside a company’s firewalls, preventing data breaches before they happen. The ZeroFox platform gives companies actionable intelligence through AI-driven analysis and its team of experienced intelligence analysts. With ZeroFox, companies can disrupt phishing attacks, impersonations, malicious domains and data leakage across the public, dark and deep web.
The acquisition of IDX, an external breach response service provider, will make ZeroFox’s security offerings more holistic, allowing the company to protect from and respond to cyberattacks. Together, the company will consist of more than 650 employees and serve approximately 2,000 customers.
“As the leader in digital privacy protection and breach response, the IDX privacy platform is trusted to address data breach risks by large multinational enterprises and government agencies alike,” IDX CEO Tom Kelly said in a statement. “Joining ZeroFox is the result of a long-standing partnership based on shared values, a vision for a safer digital world and strong alignment on the market opportunity. We look forward to leveraging our proven technology and deep tradecraft to support the mission of providing our combined customers with a platform and expanding set of capabilities.”
The acquisition of IDX is part of ZeroFox’s SPAC deal with LNFA and is expected to close sometime in early 2022.
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