Zix to Acquire AppRiver, Leading Cloud-Based Cybersecurity Solutions Provider

Zix Corporation (Zix), a leader in email security, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire AppRiver, a leading provider of cloud-based cybersecurity solutions for $275 million in cash.

AppRiver is a channel-first provider of cloud-based cybersecurity and productivity services, serving more than 60,000 companies worldwide and supported by a 4,500-strong Managed Service Provider (MSP) reseller community. AppRiver launched its flagship spam and virus service in 2002, and has since bolstered its suite of cloud-based security offerings with web protection, email encryption, secure archiving, and email continuity solutions. AppRiver also provides Microsoft Office 365 and Secure Hosted Exchange services, which serve as an effective lead generation tool for the company’s security solutions. For more than 15 years, AppRiver has helped drive industry-leading customer value through its award-winning 24/7 customer service and a single centralized platform to manage all cloud-based security solutions.

"Over the past two years, Zix has been successfully executing on its strategy of becoming a leading provider of email security for compliance. We have demonstrated strong and increasing attach rates in our solutions, have driven higher New First Year Orders growth, and have consistently been delivering industry-leading customer support by helping our customers more holistically with the security challenges they are facing, especially as it relates to migrating to the cloud," said David Wagner, Zix’s Chief Executive Officer. "This acquisition builds on those efforts in a monumental way: we’re combining two email security companies that can drive great synergies and higher growth together by leveraging Zix’s superior product delivery and AppRiver’s exceptional customer service and support. More specifically, the acquisition helps us expand our customer base, enhance our advanced threat protection position, and accelerate our high-velocity go-to-market strategy through AppRiver’s numerous and longstanding channel partnerships. Most importantly it further accelerates our offerings into the cloud at the point of initial cloud application purchase. Email is typically the first application that gets moved to the cloud, and this acquisition puts us squarely at the beginning of our customers’ cloud migration. We look forward to capturing more mailboxes and additional services for years to come.

"From a cross-selling standpoint, the acquisition provides attractive and abundant synergies at the onset, including the opportunity to drive stronger attach rates by attaching Zix’s solutions to AppRiver’s customer base, while also leveraging the lead generation potential of AppRiver’s Microsoft Office 365 suite to attach additional products to Zix’s installed base of customers. Financially, we expect to be able to realize approximately $8 million of cost savings from the combined business within approximately the first 12 to 18 months after closing, while also achieving significant scale and a larger footprint. In fact, the acquisition of AppRiver should more than double our revenue and adjusted EBITDA and scale our annual recurring revenue to more than $180 million, enabling us to maintain our ongoing commitment to profitable growth and prudent capital allocation objectives. Overall, this acquisition provides Zix with a more robust platform to further expand our growth and profitability, drive higher attach rates, scale our customer retention, and capture greater share of the multi-billion-dollar business communications market."