Updata Announces Sixth IT Security M&A Transaction in 2007

Updata represented Exploit Prevention Labs in its just-announced sale to Grisoft, a global security software vendor headquartered in the Czech Republic and backed by premier investors including Intel. Exploit Prevention Labs protects Internet users against malicious web sites and “drive-by” downloaded exploits encountered in everyday surfing on Google and other sites. The company was founded by information security veterans Bob Bales and Roger Thompson in 2005. Updata also represented Bob Bales’ prior internet security company Pest Patrol in its sale to CA.

This transaction represents Updata’s sixth IT security deal in 2007, extending the bank’s longstanding position as the premier M&A advisor to the IT security industry. Other IT security deals this year:

• Merger of public client SurfControl (a leading internet filtering vendor) with Websense (Updata’s second transaction on SurfControl’s behalf)
• Sale of client Consul (a premier identity-based insider monitoring firm) to IBM
• Acquisition by client Perimeter (a major SaaS security vendor) of USA.Net
• Sale of client NetContinuum (a leading web application firewall player) to Barracuda Networks
• Strategic investment in client Intego (largest Mac security vendor) by Bessemer Venture Partners