Vade comes under German flag

Hornetsecurity acquires French email security specialist, for undisclosed amount. 

On March 5, 2024, the German cybersecurity firm Hornetsecurity, announced the buyout of the French startup and email security and anti-phishing specialist, Vade. The amount of the purchase was not disclosed. Created in 2008, Vade claimed a 23.6-million-euro turnover in 2022, up 22% over the year, but with a 2.67-million-euro deficit. 

The French startup, managed since 2010 by the experienced Georges Lotigier, launched a foray into the US market in 2019. However its US competitor Proofpoint sued the company, accusing it of stealing trade secrets after hiring a former Proofpoint employee. In early 2023, a US court levied a 14-million-dollar (12.85-million-euro) fine upon Vade.

Launched in 2007 in Hanover, Hornetsecurity specializes in cloud and email security. “We are implementing a growth strategy on a European scale and we are very active in Germany, the UK and Spain but have yet to penetrate the French market,” explains CEO Daniel Hofmann.

The new group will rely on 700 employees and should earn over 50 million euros a year, 30% of which will come from Vade. The two brands and their solutions should continue to coexist. “Vade and Hornetsecurity products are totally complementary and combining them will only make them more powerful,” says Daniel Hofmann.

At 65 years old, Georges Lotigier will join the German company’s supervisory board, thereby relinquishing any management role.