It’s a new Miami tech unicorn. Manny Medina’s startup will be worth $1B after investment
One of the founding fathers of Miami’s tech landscape is the latest to ride the Magic City’s recent investment wave.
Manny Medina, who was instrumental in inaugurating Miami’s tech turn in founding data center group Terremark and, later, the eMerge Americas conference, announced Tuesday that his cybersecurity startup, Appgate, had received a $100 million investment commitment.
The funding, from Chicagoland-based group Magnetar, would value Appgate at $1 billion, a figure making Appgate a “unicorn” in tech parlance.
As part of the transaction, Appgate is also merging with a company owned by investor and New York Islanders hockey team co-owner Jon Ledecky that will ultimately allow Appgate to become publicly traded on either the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ exchange. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter.
Appgate offers companies a so-called “zero trust” cybersecurity solution, whereby no one, including a firm’s own employees, can access critical digital infrastructure without first verifying their credentials.
Reached by phone Tuesday, Medina said the combination of adding Ledecky, Magnetar, and going public would help raise Appgate’s profile and pave the way for its continued growth.
“The entire cybecseruty industry is going to be shifting to” zero trust, he said. “It’s not a matter of whether or if — it’s happening. And we’re going to be very well positioned to take advantage of that.”
Appgate was announced as a spin off of Medina’s umbrella tech group, Cyxtera, in November 2019. Cyxtera itself was founded in 2017.
Appgate has gone on to win clients including the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, in addition to Norwegian Cruise Lines and Fifth Third Bank, according to Medina’s investment group Medina Capital. In total, it has more than 650 customers. The company projects revenues of $40 million for fiscal year 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of 50% through fiscal year 2025, Medina Capital said in a release.
Medina Capital and BC Partners, the London-based private equity firm that co-owns Cyxtera and Appgate, will remain majority shareholders.
“In Appgate, we have found an exceptional company led by a proven, world-class management team backed by premier private equity firm, BC Partners, and a highly successful and innovative technology entrepreneur in Manny Medina,” Ledecky said in a release. Ledecky will join Appgate’s board when the transaction closes.
Appgate has a total of 360 employees worldwide; between 60 and 70 are based in Miami, Medina said.
This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 8:39 AM.
