CrowdStrike reportedly laying groundwork for IPO

Next-generation cybersecurity is rumoured to have hired Goldman Sachs as it gears up for going public, according to Reuters report

Endpoint security vendor CrowdStrike has hired Goldman Sachs to lay the groundwork for an IPO, with a reported market cap valuation of more than $3bn, according to Reuters.

Sources suggest that the flotation is likely to happen in the first half of 2019.

CrowdStrike global sales president Mike Carpenter first indicated to Channelnomics Europe that the California-headquartered firm was "pretty focused on IPO readiness", at the start of the year.

It's a different strategy to $6.5bn rival Tanium, which recently announced it had shelved plans for an IPO, following another mega funding round of $200m.

However, CrowdStrike - which was founded in 2011 - has several more established cybersecurity competitors who are already public and impressing investors.

Carbon Black is currently worth $1.24bn following its April IPO.

Bigger player Symantec currently has a market cap of $12.23bn, while on the network security side, Palo Alto Networks is valued at $18.16bn.

Crowdstrike claims it has grown rapidly since emerging from Silicon Valley's saturated cybersecurity start-up scene seven years ago.

In August, its global channel boss Matthew Polly told Channelnomics Europe that the firm has "more than tripled in value in a year" through "taking market share from McAfee and Symantec".

With the stock market remaining buoyant, the firm could see its corporate valuation boosted further still.

Channelnomics Europe contacted CrowdStrike, who declined to comment.