Investec has advised the founders of Prescient Security on the sale of a majority stake to SGS, one of the world’s leading Testing, Inspection and Certification companies
About the deal
Founded in 2018, Prescient Security is a tech-enabled cybersecurity certification platform. It certifies information security, payment security and data protection against SOC 2, ISO 27001 and 42001, PCI DSS and HITRUST, as well as US federal frameworks including FedRAMP and CMMC. Its proprietary automation turns a traditionally manual audit process into a digital, AI-supported one, and the platform plugs into the leading GRC providers. The Group serves more than 5,000 clients worldwide – SaaS providers and large enterprises in finance, healthcare, retail, technology and defence – from teams across North America, Europe, India and the Philippines. Co-founded and led by Fabrice Mouret (CEO) and Sammy Chowdhury (COO), the Group has experienced fast growth since its creation.
Following a competitive sale process led by Investec, SGS completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Prescient Security.
The partnership will enable Prescient Security to draw on SGS’s global network and brand to accelerate its international expansion, while strengthening SGS’s cybersecurity offering in North America. The acquisition is an important step in expanding SGS’s Digital Trust platform, for which SGS targets at least CHF 200m in additional revenue by 2027 compared with 2023.
Our role
Investec acted as exclusive sell-side financial adviser to the founders throughout the transaction:
- Deal preparation: developing the equity story, reviewing management’s business plan, coordinating financial vendor due diligence, preparing marketing materials, and advising on the sale strategy and transaction structure.
- Deal execution: running a competitive process with international strategic buyers, preparing management for buyer meetings, coordinating due diligence and supporting the final negotiations.
This deal illustrates our ability to assist founders in selling fast-growing tech-enabled platforms to global strategic acquirers and further reinforces our cross-border expertise within the TIC and cybersecurity markets.
