EQT backs cybersecurity training business
EQT has invested in EC-Council, a cybersecurity training and certification business established by a Malaysian entrepreneur, through its Asia mid-market fund.
The fund, which closed at $800 million in 2018, typically commits EUR40-100 million ($45-113 million) per deal in Southeast Asia, although EQT generally is keen to write larger checks in the region. The size of the EC-Council transaction was not disclosed.
Founded in 2001 by Jay Bayisi, who retains a majority stake in the business and will continue to serve as CEO, EC-Council provides cybersecurity training and certification programs. Its first and best-known certification, the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), focuses on cyber-attack vectors and preventative countermeasures.
The company has customers in more than 145 countries, both directly and through over 700 partners. Customers include seven of the top 10 Fortune 500 companies and 47 of the top 100. It also works with public organizations and governmental bodies such as the US Department of Defense, NATO, and over 2,000 universities, colleges, and training companies.
Growth has been driven by a rising need to protect corporations against increasingly complex cyber threats and a widening gap in the supply and demand of digital talent in the cybersecurity industry, according to a statement.
EC-Council employs 500 people globally and has 10 offices across the US, UK, Malaysia, Singapore, India, and Indonesia. It also runs its own university, an accredited institution of higher learning in the US, that provides certificate, undergraduate and postgraduate programs in cybersecurity.
EQT will support further growth, leveraging its past experience in the cybersecurity industry. The private equity firm has named Andrew Wait, previously president of Lynda.com and EF Englishtown and general manager at Ancestry.com, to the EC-Council board.
“By expanding our cybersecurity product portfolio and increasing the accessibility of online cyber preparedness training and testing tools, we hope to accelerate the development of cyber talent worldwide while encouraging the participation of more diverse communities in this growing industry,” said Bayisi.
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