Billionaire Teddy Sagi eyeing $1.5 billion buyout of cyber company Kape
Billionaire Teddy Sagi eyeing $1.5 billion buyout of cyber company Kape
The Israeli businessman already owns 54.8% of the company and plans to delist it from the London Stock Exchange
Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi is looking to take cybersecurity company Kape Technologies private, announcing on Monday that he has made a cash offer to buy the company at a valuation of about $1.51 billion.
Sagi, the founder of gambling software firm Playtech, owns 54.8% of Kape's stock and intends to buy the London-listed group's remaining shares at 285 pence apiece.
Kape urged its shareholders not to take any action on the offer. Two months ago, Kape rejected a 265 pence per share proposal from Sagi, labeling it as "insufficient".
Kape, the owner of popular virtual private network service ExpressVPN, reported last month a record annual financial performance for 2022, helped by robust demand for its privacy and security products.
"Having weighed the pros and cons of a public listing under the current macro uncertainties and thin stock market trading as well as new growth avenues, we are firm in our view that Kape's next chapter in its corporate journey should be within the private arena," Sagi said in a statement.
Sagi's Unikmind Holdings, which holds the businessman's shares in Kape, said it intended to call for a general meeting of Kape to seek to pass a resolution to delist Kape from trading, regardless of the offer's outcome.
Kape announced last September that it had successfully raised gross proceeds of $220 million in a share placing on the London Stock Exchange. Sagi increased his controlling stake in the company at the time to 54.3% with the acquisition of $120 million worth of shares, with Israeli institutional investors such as The Phoenix Insurance Company, Clal Insurance, and More Investment House, also participating.
Reuters contributed to this report
