Vista Equity Partners Completes Acquisition of KnowBe4
1.2.2023 17:17:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
KnowBe4, Inc. (“KnowBe4”), the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, today announced the completion of its acquisition by Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), a leading global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses, for $24.90 per share in cash.
“Today’s acquisition is a significant milestone for the entire KnowBe4 team. It’s representative of our achievements to date, as well as our potential for continued long-term growth,” said Stu Sjouwerman, founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of KnowBe4. “Vista provides the resources and operational expertise to enhance customer value. We’re thrilled to embark on this next chapter and realize our goals for addressing cybersecurity’s weakest link.”
“The human element remains one of the most important yet neglected aspects of cybersecurity,” said Michael Fosnaugh, Co-Head of Vista’s Flagship Fund and Senior Managing Director. “The opportunity to scale a business that is truly mission-critical to enterprises around the world is core to Vista’s investment approach and value creation efforts. This, combined with Stu’s track record as a visionary founder and KnowBe4’s demonstrated product leadership, makes partnering with the Company very exciting.”
With the completion of the transaction, KnowBe4 shares have ceased trading and are no longer listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as financial advisor and Potter Anderson & Corroon served as legal counsel to KnowBe4’s Special Committee. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation served as legal advisor to KnowBe4.
Guggenheim Securities, LLC served as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel for Vista.
About KnowBe4
KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, is used by more than 56,000 organizations around the globe. Founded by IT and data security specialist Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 helps organizations address the human element of security by raising awareness about ransomware, CEO fraud and other social engineering tactics through a new-school approach to awareness training on security. Kevin Mitnick, an internationally recognized cybersecurity specialist and KnowBe4’s Chief Hacking Officer, helped design the KnowBe4 training based on his well-documented social engineering tactics. Tens of thousands of organizations rely on KnowBe4 to mobilize their end users as their last line of defense.
About Vista Equity Partners
Vista is a leading global investment firm with more than $95 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2022. The firm exclusively invests in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled organizations across private equity, permanent capital, credit and public equity strategies, bringing an approach that prioritizes creating enduring market value for the benefit of its global ecosystem of investors, companies, customers and employees. Vista's investments are anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions and proven, flexible management techniques that drive sustainable growth. Vista believes the transformative power of technology is the key to an even better future – a healthier planet, a smarter economy, a diverse and inclusive community and a broader path to prosperity. Further information is available at vistaequitypartners.com. Follow Vista on LinkedIn, @Vista Equity Partners, and on Twitter, @Vista_Equity.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230201005656/en/
Contact information
For media inquiries, contact:
Brian W. Steel
media@vistaequitypartners.com
+1-212-804-9170
Kathy Wattman
Public Relations
PR@KnowBe4.com
(727) 474-9950
For investor inquiries, contact:
Ken Talanian
Investor Relations
IR@Knowbe4.com
(727) 286-3584
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Kinaxis Appoints Herb Yeh as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer20.7.2026 14:01:00 EEST | Press release
Kinaxis® Inc. (TSX:KXS), a global leader in supply chain planning and orchestration, today announced the appointment of Herb Yeh as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, effective July 27, 2026. In this role, Yeh will oversee the global finance organization and corporate strategy operations at Kinaxis, leading all Finance, Accounting, Investor Relations, Corporate Strategy, and Corporate Development. He will work closely with the executive leadership team and Board of Directors to support disciplined execution, long-term growth, and shareholder value creation. "Herb has spent his career working with boards and management teams at their most critical inflection points in enterprise software, and we are thrilled to have him join Kinaxis," said Razat Gaurav, Chief Executive Officer of Kinaxis. "He has followed Kinaxis and the broader supply chain technology sector closely for more than a decade, and that depth of perspective, paired with his expertise advising companies on c
IFF Announces Agreement to Sell Its Portfolio of Botanical Extracts, Vitamins & Minerals and Food Enhancement Activities to SuanNutra, a Portfolio Company of Carbyne Equity Partners.20.7.2026 13:45:00 EEST | Press release
IFF (NYSE: IFF) — a global leader in flavors, fragrances, and health and biosciences — today announced that it has entered into an agreement with SuanNutra, a Carbyne Equity Partners portfolio company and global provider of science-backed branded and functional ingredients, to sell its portfolio of botanical extracts, vitamins and minerals, and food enhancement activities, including its range of natural colors and antioxidants and certain localized flavor activities in Peru. The portfolio serves a broad range of food, beverage and nutritional end markets through a comprehensive selection of customized solutions. “These businesses are highly respected, and we are confident they will continue to thrive under the ownership of SuanNutra and Carbyne,” said Erik Fyrwald, CEO IFF. “This transaction is another step in optimizing our portfolio and reinforces our focus on our core innovation-led businesses — Taste, Scent and Health & Biosciences — where we see the greatest opportunities to drive
NIQ Appoints Irina Stoian as Chief AI Commercial Officer20.7.2026 13:45:00 EEST | Press release
NIQ today announced that Irina Stoian has joined the company as Chief AI Commercial Officer, a newly created role designed to accelerate NIQ’s enterprise AI commercial strategy and help clients turn the company’s AI capabilities into business impact and growth. Stoian will help align Product, Technology, Commercial, Partnerships, and Marketing around a unified AI growth strategy. Her remit includes shaping commercial AI offerings, strategic partnerships, pricing and business models, and deeper integration of NIQ capabilities into client workflows. The appointment builds on NIQ’s broader AI strategy, which positions the company as a trusted intelligence infrastructure powering AI-driven commerce. Across its AI portfolio, including ConnectAI, NIQ Optiq™, and NIQ Cadence™, NIQ is expanding how clients access trusted data, intelligence, and AI-powered workflows. “AI is not a feature we are adding to NIQ; it is core to our product strategy,” said Jim Peck, Chief Executive Officer of NIQ. “I
Wolters Kluwer Named Top Vendor Law Firm SaaS Solution Provider in the DACH Region for 202720.7.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Wolters Kluwer’s Legal & Regulatory has been recognized as a top vendor for Law Firm SaaS Solutions in the DACH region for 2027, according to the latest Vendor Selection Matrix™ by Research in Action. Kleos, the company's cloud-native legal practice management platform, achieved a shared first-place position in the ranking and received the highest scores for customer satisfaction, value for money and customer recommendation among surveyed law firms in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The recognition builds on the platform's earlier pan-European leadership position and reinforces Kleos' standing as one of Europe's leading legal practice management solutions. "We are proud to be recognized as a leading provider of Law Firm SaaS Solutions in the DACH region,” said Sergio Liscia, Vice President Legal Software at Wolters Kluwer. “What makes this recognition particularly meaningful is that it reflects the experience of legal professionals themselves. Achieving the highest ratings for custom
IQM and Deutsche Bahn Demonstrate Quantum Algorithm for Railway Scheduling on Real Operational Data20.7.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
IQM Quantum Computers (Nasdaq: IQMX), a global leader in full-stack superconducting quantum computers, today published the results of a research collaboration with Deutsche Bahn, Europe’s largest rail operator, exploring how quantum computing can improve railway scheduling. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260719172592/en/ IQM's whitepaper on hybrid quantum optimization for railway scheduling, developed with Deutsche Bahn. Using a real operational dataset from Deutsche Bahn, a schedule of 190 trips across five German cities translating into roughly 98,500 possible cycles, the two organizations developed and tested a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm designed for enterprise-scale optimization problems. As detailed in a published whitepaper here, the IQM team applied the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) in manageable stages, with the quantum component solving smaller subproblems within a classic
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom