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January 20, 2011, 8:36 AM EST
By Henry Meyer
Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Kaspersky Lab, Russia’s largest maker of antivirus software, is planning acquisitions in the U.S. and Europe after selling 20 percent of its shares to private-equity group General Atlantic LLC.
“This will help us with our international expansion,” Executive Director Yevgeny Buyakin said today in a phone interview in Moscow. “We can speed up our growth through acquisitions, and General Atlantic can help us because this is their business and they have great expertise in this.”
The Moscow-based company, started by majority shareholder Eugene Kaspersky in 1997, plans an initial public offering within three to four years, Buyakin said. It aims within five years to become the world’s biggest provider of end-user Internet security software, up from fourth place now.
With offices in 29 countries, Kaspersky had revenue of $391 million in 2009, Buyakin said. Sales increased 35 percent to 40 percent in 2010 and should rise 30 percent this year, he said.
General Atlantic will become Kaspersky’s second-largest shareholder as a result of the deal, which won’t reduce the stakes held by Eugene Kaspersky and top managers, Buyakin said.
A shareholder in Kaspersky agreed to sell the 20 percent stake to General Atlantic for $200 million, Vedomosti reported today, citing a person familiar with the transaction.
--Editors: Willy Morris, Alan Crawford
To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Willy Morris at wmorris@bloomberg.net
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Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Kaspersky Lab, Russia’s largest maker of antivirus software, is planning acquisitions in the U.S. and Europe after selling 20 percent of its shares to private-equity group General Atlantic LLC.
“This will help us with our international expansion,” Executive Director Yevgeny Buyakin said today in a phone interview in Moscow. “We can speed up our growth through acquisitions, and General Atlantic can help us because this is their business and they have great expertise in this.”
The Moscow-based company, started by majority shareholder Eugene Kaspersky in 1997, plans an initial public offering within three to four years, Buyakin said. It aims within five years to become the world’s biggest provider of end-user Internet security software, up from fourth place now.
With offices in 29 countries, Kaspersky had revenue of $391 million in 2009, Buyakin said. Sales increased 35 percent to 40 percent in 2010 and should rise 30 percent this year, he said.
General Atlantic will become Kaspersky’s second-largest shareholder as a result of the deal, which won’t reduce the stakes held by Eugene Kaspersky and top managers, Buyakin said.
A shareholder in Kaspersky agreed to sell the 20 percent stake to General Atlantic for $200 million, Vedomosti reported today, citing a person familiar with the transaction.
--Editors: Willy Morris, Alan Crawford
To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Willy Morris at wmorris@bloomberg.net
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Legal Forum | Politics Forum | Sports Forum | Teen Forum | Webmaster Forum