Australian investment giant Macquarie acquires $32 million-worth of BioCatch shares
Australian investment giant Macquarie acquires $32 million-worth of BioCatch shares
The Israeli unicorn completed its third secondary deal in less than a year, with Sapphire Ventures and Permira Growth Opportunities purchasing $70 million and $40 million in shares, respectively, last year
Israeli unicorn BioCatch recently completed its third secondary deal in less than a year, Calcalist has learned. Australia’s Macquarie Capital of the Macquarie Group, which has around $600 billion in assets under management, invested $32 million in the company's shares, which it purchased from its early investors at a value of slightly more than $1 billion. Similar to the previous secondary transaction last October, when Sapphire Ventures purchased $70 million-worth of shares, none of the proceeds will enter BioCatch's coffers.
Last May, BioCatch, which specializes in software development for identifying and preventing bank fraud and money laundering, sold a $40 million package of shares to investment fund Permira Growth Opportunities.
Founded in 2011 by Avi Turgeman and the late Benny Rosenbaum, BioCatch, currently led by CEO Gadi Mazor, employs 280 people, half of whom are based in Israel. The recent surge in the company's value follows accelerated growth, propelling it to a yearly revenue pace of $100 million, leading to a positive cash flow. This growth is fueled by a 51% revenue increase from its 152 clients, consisting of banks and financial institutions. Notably, 28 of the world's top 100 banks are on BioCatch's client list.
The primary shareholder in BioCatch is currently investment fund Bain Capital, which led the last fundraising round in 2020 in which the company raised a total of $145 million. Other notable stakeholders include the investment arms of major global banks such as HSBC, Citi, Barclays, and the investment arm of American Express. To date, BioCatch has raised $253 million, with the proceeds from the last three rounds benefiting early investors seeking an exit.
Recently, BioCatch expanded its focus on the identification of accounts used for money laundering and terrorist financing, addressing a heightened need since the outbreak of the war with Hamas. The company claims a 98% accuracy rate in distinguishing accounts operated by regular users from those associated with money laundering networks. Even before the first funds enter an account, BioCatch's system reportedly identifies such accounts in 70% of cases.
While the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing market currently contributes about 10% to the company's revenues, it is anticipated that the ongoing conflict involving Hamas will raise awareness of the significance of preventing the funding of terrorist organizations, potentially increasing the prominence of this sector for BioCatch.
