authors Geert De Lombaerde
An Atlanta software holding company focused on convenience stores and petroleum wholesalers around the world has acquired Franklin-based managed security services marketer Cybera.
The deal closed this week alongside PDI’s acquisition of the managed security services division of ControlScan, which is based in Lexington, Kentucky. The two businesses will work alongside each other under the umbrella of a new PDI security solutions group. Terms of the purchase by PDI aren’t being disclosed, but trade publication Buyouts reported in mid-2019 that a deal could be worth between $250 million and $300 million.
Cybera, which had been owned by private equity firm Sumeru Equity Partners and Adams Street Partners, employs about 110 people locally and another 20 people at offices in Silicon Valley and London. The company was founded in 2001 and attracted big-name clients such as Shell, Mapco, Captain D’s and Applebee’s as it built out its cloud-based network security services over the years. It now does business in 23 countries with clients who run more than 90,000 locations. By comparison, PDI’s customer base of more than 1,500 has a global network of more than 200,000 stores.
“Security is becoming increasingly important in our industry as many businesses embrace their own digital transformation and deploy more in-store applications and edge devices,” said Jimmy Frangis, PDI’s CEO. “We are excited to add these industry-leading solutions from Cybera and ControlScan MSS to our portfolio. We look forward to welcoming their teams, and together we can serve our customers’ needs now and in the future.”
Cybera has been led since Sumeru’s September 2015 investment by Andrew Lev, who took over the helm from founder and now-President Cliff Duffey.
