DLA Piper advises Critical Start in US$215 Million Strategic Investment

DLA Piper advised Critical Start, a leading provider of Managed Detection and Response (MDR) cybersecurity solutions, in its over $215 million strategic growth investment from Vista Equity Partners, a leading global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses.

Committed to a 100% channel go-to-market model, Critical Start will use the capital from Vista to further invest in its technology, product, and service offerings as well as meaningfully expand its talented teams to meet the massive market demand. The company has experienced rapid growth as enterprises cope with a rising volume of threats and a wide cybersecurity talent gap, putting Critical Start’s managed services in high demand. The company has grown its annual recurring revenue by more than 400% in the last three years and diversified its channel network across 90 channel partners through its integrations with third-party cybersecurity software providers.

“It was a privilege to work with Critical Start and help secure this funding, particularly during a critical time for cybersecurity services across the globe,” said Eric Grossman, Vice Chair of DLA Piper’s Private Equity Group and lead partner on the deal. “As we have seen over the last few years, cyber threats have become increasingly top of mind for businesses of all sizes, and DLA looks forward to continuing its work by helping clients navigate the ever-evolving security challenges.”

“It was of tremendous value to me to be able to have Eric and the DLA team leading us through this seminal moment in our history,” said Rob Davis, Founder and CEO of Critical Start. “Their experience in the private equity arena and in our space in particular was a tremendous value driver.”

In addition to Grossman (Northern Virginia), the DLA Piper team that worked on the deal included partners Thomas Hendershot (Northern Virginia) and Stacy Paz (Palo Alto), of counsel Michael Cubell (San Francisco), and associates Melissa Lucar (San Diego) and Susan Kim (Washington, DC).

With more than 100 US lawyers who provide strategic counsel to private equity funds and their industry-leading portfolio companies, DLA Piper’s Private Equity practice has the capacity, experience and relationships to help drive value across the investment life cycle by delivering responsive, efficient and integrated solutions around the world.