Veeam Software, a global leader in cloud data management software, is to be acquired by top software investor Insight Partners. The deal, which values Veeam at “approximately $5 billion,” is expected to be closed in March.
“Veeam has enjoyed rapid global growth over the last decade and we see tremendous opportunity for future growth, particularly in the US market. With the acquisition, we are excited that our current US workforce of more than 1,200 will be expanded and strengthened to acquire and support more customers,” stated Veeam CEO William H. Largent.
“It’s rare to find a company of this size that still has a huge amount of room in terms of growth potential,” Forbes quoted Mike Triplett, a managing director at Insight Partners who sits on the Veeam board, as saying.
Veeam raised $500 million from Insight Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) just a year ago.
US cloud focus
Currently located in Bar, Switzerland, the company’s headquarters will be moved to the USA as a new executive team will be installed, Forbes reported, citing statements from Insight Partners.
Veeam will now seek expansion by targeting the major players for the hyperscale public cloud, which are mostly based in the USA.
Veeam is the market share leader in EMEA, notes Forbes, citing a 2018 IDC report, with about 55% of revenue coming from Europe, compared to 30% from North America.
Veeam now claims to serve more than 365,000 customers (up 40,000 in one year) generating approximately $1 billion in sales every year. The company was ranked number 27 on the Forbes 2019 Cloud 100 list.
Two new dollar billionaires from Russia
Veeam’s founders Andrei Baronov and Ratmir Timashev are figures of the Russian and international tech scene. They are behind ABRT, a venture firm which has made nearly 30 investments and claims a 43.99% net IRR performance.
Timashev was also a shareholder of 5nine, a software company which was sold to Acronis a month ago in a transaction that perhaps exceeded $100 million.
Although they spend the better part of their time outside their native country, Forbes Russia counts Baronov and Timashev among Russia’s richest businessmen. Their respective wealths were estimated at $700 million (before Veeam’s acquisition) in the latest ranking of the business publication.
A number of other successful tech companies founded by Russians operate from other countries. Among them are Acronis, Badoo, Evernote, Nginx, Kaspersky, Parallels, Telegram and WayRay.
