Israeli Platform Webselenese Acquired By Cybersecurity Firm Kape For $149.1M

Israeli firm Webselenese, a company that has developed a data-driven platform for producing content in the privacy and cybersecurity sector, has been acquired by cybersecurity firm Kape for $149.1 million in cash and shares, the companies announced on Monday.

In the past 10 years, Tel Aviv-based company Webselenese has become a top destination for consumers looking to better understand the cybersecurity market and a platform for brands to reach relevant consumers.

The company’s collection of product comparison sites, which offer objective reviews, recommendations and tips on a broad spectrum of security and privacy tools, gets more than eight million unique visitors each month and are translated into 30 languages.

Kape is acquiring Webselenese for $116.6 million in cash and $32.5 million in new shares which will be issued to the shareholders of Webselenese. Kape will finance $35 million for the company and about $85 million of the cash part will be financed by Kape through a bridging loan from the controlling shareholder, businessman Teddy Sagi.

“The acquisition of Webselenese is the direct result of our M&As strategy, which is aiming for us to become the main player in the global privacy market,” said Kape CEO Ido Erlichman.

“Having worked in partnership with Kape for the last three years, we are delighted to join forces,” said Ran Greenberg and Ariel Hochstadt, co-founders, Webselenese. “We share the same ethos, and our vision to create a company which promotes and provides unparalleled digital privacy and security to our customers worldwide. We are excited by the opportunities that we believe exist for the enlarged group and are looking forward to our future as part of the Kape family.”

Webselenese has not raised capital from outside sources, such as venture-capital funds, and the two co-founders, Ran Greenberg and Ariel Hochstadt, are the sole shareholders in the company.

Kape is based in the Isle of Man and is controlled by Teddy Sagi. It is traded on London’s Alternative Investment Market. It has a market cap of $600m.