Waterloo-based cybersecurity company Magnet Forensics plans to go public with an initial public offering (IPO) aimed at raising CDN$90 million, according to a prospectus filed yesterday.
The proposed offering would see the company’s shares trade on the TSX under the symbol MAGT. The company plans to offer between 5,625,000 and 6,428,571 shares priced at between $14 and $16 each.
The Magnet Forensics offering could be the first IPO in six years from a tech company in Waterloo Region, the last being COM DEV spinout exactEarth in 2016. The last company before that was Sandvine Inc. in 2006.
Many companies in the region have funded their growth through venture capital in recent years. For example, wholesale platform Faire has raised a combined US$320 million in the past two years through series D and E raises, helping lift the private company well into unicorn status with a valuation of US$2.5 billion.
However, a number of Canadian tech companies have also had IPO success recently. Last September, Montreal-based payments company Nuvei Corp. set a TSX record for a Canadian tech IPO by raising US$833 million.
Launched in 2010, Magnet Forensics develops digital-investigation software that helps recover evidence from cloud services, mobile phones, computers and other digital devices. The company was founded by former police officer Jad Saliba, who serves as Magnet’s CTO, and Adam Belsher, a former BlackBerry executive who serves as Magnet’s CEO.
According to the prospectus, Magnet Forensics’ total revenue for fiscal 2020 was approximately CDN$51.2 million. As of Dec. 31, 2020, the company employed 270 people in four offices and its solutions were used by more than 4,000 customers in 94 countries.
“Our success in expanding our relationship with existing customers has been a key driver of our revenue growth and success to date, which we expect will continue to be a critical growth strategy for us going forward,” the company said in its prospectus.
