Security stays hot as Imperva grabs Distil Networks

Last week four security companies changed hands. The shopping spree continued this week with CDN company Imperva announcing it was buying bot mitigation startup Distil Networks. The companies did not share the acquisition price.

Imperva CTO Kunal Anand says his company had a narrow bot capability, but was looking to bring a more complete solution to the platform and Distil fit the bill nicely.

“When we looked at all of these different variables, and when we looked at the capabilities and the presence that they have in the market, the leadership with analysts, it felt like a no-brainer for us. And once we got to know the team, Rami, and all the folks at Distil, we thought it would be a great pairing to combine these companies,” he explained.

Distil Networks chief product and strategy officer and co-founder Rami Essaid says the paperwork to seal the deal was signed just yesterday and is expected to close in a month. He says he was finding it difficult to hold his own as a point solution in a market that increasingly valued a platform of services from a single vendor, so he went looking for a partner like Imperva.

“We were finding it harder and harder to compete as a point solution, outside of being a platform, so we started looking for a platform partner that we could be a part of to continue our journey, and to continue to do what we do best without having to build an entire platform ourselves,” Essaid told TechCrunch.

The plan is to bring most of Distil’s employees on-board, while the long-term plan is to incorporate the Distil toolset into Imperva’s platform. Essaid says that all of his current customers will have the opportunity to become Imperva customers.

Distil was founded in 2011 and has raised almost $60 million. Imperva was sold last year to private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $2.1 billion.