Galway tech company NetFort acquired by Rapid7

NetFort, a Galway-based developer of network traffic and security monitoring software, has been acquired by the Nasdaq-listed company Rapid7.

No financial details for the deal were disclosed but industry sources estimated that it was worth more than €10 million.

This is the second Irish business to be acquired by the Boston-based company, which previously acquired UCD-spinout Logentries for $68 million (€60.7 million) in late 2015.

Founded in 2002 by former employees at Digital Equipment, NetFort currently employs 16 people at its headquarters in Galway Technology Park in Mervue.

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It has developed proprietary technology that transforms raw network traffic into readable data for security and operations teams. Its clients include the US Department of Treasury, Xilinx, Honda, Trinity College Dublin, the Revenue commissioners, and the Department of Health.

Netfort chief executive John Brosnan, who founded the company along with Morgan Doyle and Gabrielle Kennelly, declined to comment on the financial terms of the transaction but said the company was "delighted with the terms".

Improve the security posture

“Rapid7 will help us apply our network data insights across their cloud-based platform to improve the security posture of our customers,” said Mr Brosnan.

Boston-headquartered Rapid7 said it did not expect the deal to have a material impact on its annualised recurring revenue growth for its current financial year.

Rapid7, a provider of security data and analytics solutions, raised $103 million when it floated on the Nasdaq in 2015. The company, which has more than 7,800 customers globally, provides software and services that help companies better understand their IT environments and reduce their exposure to cyber attacks.

“We were immediately impressed by NetFort’s technology and the deep network protocol expertise inherent across the team,” said Lee Weiner, chief product officer at Rapid7.

“By bringing NetFort’s network data and analytics to our own platform, we enhance security analysts’ capability to unearth risk, detech attacks, and investigate incidents more effectively,” he added.