Golden Gate Capital, a leading private equity investment firm, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Securly, the Silicon Valley-based student safety pioneers, from the Company’s shareholders, which include Defy Partners, Owl Ventures and Securly Co-Founder Vinay Mahadik. Securly will continue to be led by Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Bharath Madhusudan. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Securly is an end-to-end student safety and device management platform serving more than 10 million students globally across 2,500 K-12 school districts. Securly’s pioneering student safety technology enables district and school administrators, educators and parents to keep children safe and engaged, guiding them through an increasingly digital world. The Company’s signature cloud-based web filter leverages the industry’s most sophisticated AI engine in student safety to identify signs of bullying, self-harm and violence across all devices. A team of 24×7 student safety experts review alerts to evaluate the full context of any flagged activity, and immediately notify schools, parents or authorities as appropriate. This early warning system has helped save over 1,200 student lives since 2017.
“Now more than ever, Securly is squarely focused on keeping our youth safe and engaged at school,” said Mr. Madhusudan. “Our revenue growth has quadrupled over the last three years, and we continue to see significant unmet need in the edtech space. We are excited to partner with Golden Gate Capital, which brings deep experience in education technology and cybersecurity software, as we enter our next chapter of growth. Looking ahead, we remain tirelessly committed to our mission while expanding our global footprint as we enhance our existing platform and develop category-defining solutions to keep students healthy and engaged.”
“The pandemic accelerated students’ use of technology and personal devices for school, demonstrating the importance and value of Securly’s pioneering platform for parents, educators, school leaders and IT administrators,” said Rishi Chandna, a Managing Director at Golden Gate Capital. “We expect these digital needs and connectivity trends to continue in schools, and given that Securly has market penetration in over 10% of U.S. public school districts, we believe the Company has a significant opportunity, both in the U.S. and internationally, to drive further adoption of its award-winning, cost-efficient solutions.”
Matthew Crump, a Principal at Golden Gate Capital said, “Built by a deep and talented team of parents, educators and technologists, Securly pioneered the digital student safety movement in 2012 and continues to lead it. We admire Securly’s commitment to safety and empathy, and look forward to partnering with Bharath and his management team to help the Company enter its next chapter of growth, continue to accelerate its products, and enhance the Securly customer experience.”
“Our entire team at Defy is proud to have partnered with Bharath and the Securly team as it grew from a cloud compliance software solution for schools into a wide reaching end-to-end student safety and mobile device management platform,” said Neil Sequeira, Co-founder and Partner at Defy Partners. “This transaction is a highly successful outcome for our LPs and we wish Securly all the best as it continues to grow and flourish under Golden Gate Capital.”
“It’s been an honor to partner with the entire team at Securly,” said Amit A. Patel, Managing Director at Owl Ventures. “We are proud of the increasingly important work they are doing to keep millions of kids across the world safe from instances of bullying, violence and self-harm, especially as schools around the world are incorporating more technology into the education experience.”
“Securly has been a rare convergence of social impact and deep tech,” said Mr. Mahadik. “I am excited to see Securly’s vision play out even stronger under this partnership.”
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Nob Hill Law Group P.C. served as legal advisors and Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. served as financial advisor to Golden Gate Capital. DLA Piper LLP served as legal advisor and Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. served as financial advisor to Securly.
