Accuvant-FishNet Merger Complete, $1.5B Security Behemoth Is Born

Accuvant and FishNet Security Monday said they had closed on their merger, creating a $1.5 billion security behemoth with ties to every leading security product manufacturer.

The combined company also said three-quarters of its executive team will be coming over from Accuvant, with Accuvant CEO Dan Burns taking the reins of the new company.

The combined company will launch its new name and marketing brand in the second half of 2015, with each company operating under its existing names and brands in the interim.

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"Our combined organization will offer a comprehensive suite of end-to-end solutions ranging from strategy to tactical and everything in between, enabling organizations to rely on one trusted source for all their information security needs," Burns said in a statement.

No information was given about the corporate headquarters for the combined company, which has more than 10,000 customers and 1,400 employees, 650 of whom work as either consultants or engineers.

FishNet CEO Rich Fennessy told CRN in November that the companies were not looking to lay off people as part of the merger.

The combined company also will have 60 locations across the U.S. and Canada, as well as a FishNet office in London.

Accuvant, No. 48 on the 2014 CRN Solution Provider 500, is based in Denver, while FishNet, No. 46 on the CRN Solution Provider 500, has its headquarters in Overland Park, Kan.

Blackstone Group will have majority ownership of the combined company, a private equity firm that acquired a majority stake in Accuvant in March.

Minority interests in the new company include Investcorp, an international investment firm that acquired a majority stake of FishNet in January 2013; Sverica International, a longtime Accuvant shareholder; and management of the new, combined company.

NEXT: Accuvant, FishNet Execs Leading New Company

The new company will be led by CEO Burns and FishNet President and COO Mark Williams, who is taking the same title with the new company.

Rounding out the C-suite will be Accuvant CFO and COO David Roshak, who's serving as CFO of the new company; Accuvant Chief Security and Strategy Officer Jason Clark, who will be chief information security officer for the new company; and Accuvant Chief Marketing Officer Steve Perkins, who will keep the same title with the new company.

The executive vice presidents of the new company are Accuvant Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales Tim Hoffman, who's keeping the same title; FishNet Eexecutive Vice President of Services Aaron Shilts, who's becoming executive vice president of worldwide services; and Accuvant Executive Vice President of Partner Solutions Dan Wilson, who's becoming executive vice president of partner strategy.

Several FishNet leaders will not be on the new company's executive team, including CTO Brandy Peterson, Executive Vice President of Sales Mike Bossert and company founder and Chairman of the Board Gary Fish. What role if any they will have with the new company has not been disclosed.

All six members of Accuvant's executive leadership team will have a role with the new company.

It was revealed in November that Fennessy, who replaced Fish as CEO in November 2013, would be leaving the company.

Both companies have enjoyed enormous growth in recent years, with Accuvant achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32 percent between 2009 and 2013 and FishNet achieving a CAGR of 22 percent over that period.

Despite their growth, the two companies share few customers. Of the 10,000 companies doing business with either Accuvant or FishNet, Fennessy said in November that just 100 have $50,000 of transactions with both solution providers.

Wilson told CRN in November that the combined company is looking to expand and differentiate its capabilities in the managed security services space, where FishNet's business has grown by 170 percent in recent years.

PUBLISHED FEB. 2, 2015