ForeScout Technologies Files For IPO, Reveals Channel Partners Make Up More Than 80 Percent Of Revenue
ForeScout Technologies officially filed for its long-awaited initial public offering on Monday, calling out partners as a key factor in its growth strategy.
The S-1 filing on Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission comes after a long period of speculation that the company would go public before the end of the year. Reports earlier this year said the company had filed "confidentially" for an IPO. The company now officially said it plans to be listed on the Nasdaq stock market as "FSCT."
ForeScout, based in San Jose, Calif., offers a platform that uses an agentless approach to provide visibility, classification, and monitoring of all devices connected to the network. The solution targets the IoT security market and the increasing challenge presented by the rapid increase in the number of devices connecting to the corporate network.
In the filing, ForeScout is looking to raise $100 million, though that figure might be a placeholder and could change in the coming months.
The company revealed increasing sales of $71.1 million, $126 million, and $166.8 million in 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively. During those same years, ForeScout reported losses of $44 million, $27.3 million, and $74.8 million, respectively.
In the first six months of 2017, the company said it had had sales of $90.6 million, with a loss of $47.7 million. ForeScout said it expects those losses to continue, as it expects to increase its expenses as it invests in R&D, sales, marketing and headcount increases.
ForeScout had raised $156 million in funding to date and had a valuation of about $1 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In its filing, the company said it plans to use the capital from the IPO for general corporate purposes, headcount growth, working capital, sales and marketing, R&D, loan repayment, and more. It said it could also use some of the proceeds for the acquisition of companies that "complement our business," though it said it is not currently in talks with any particular company.
ForeScout also said it views partners as a key piece of its growth strategy, saying there is a "significant opportunity to grow sales through our channel partners, particularly to mid-market enterprises." The company said it currently does business with around 600 channel partners and channel sales accounted for 90 percent, 80 percent and 86 percent of its revenues in 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively.
The company launched a new partner program in February of this year, in a move to help solution providers capitalize on the opportunity for providing internet of things (IoT) security, and to capture more margin with its customers. The company moved to a three-tier model at that time based on revenues and certifications and drove more of a regional focus. ForeScout also moved under the new program to transition its professional services capabilities to the channel.
ForeScout has been actively working to expand its security platform in recent months, looking to provide an integrated set of offerings for partners to take to customers. The company most recently announced a partnership with CyberArk to bring privileged access management capabilities to its visibility platform.
The company also made multiple top-level executive additions in July, announcing former FireEye executive Ryan Brichant as vice president and chief technology officer of global critical infrastructure, former FireEye executive Julie Cullivan as CIO and senior vice president of business operations, and former Fortinet executive Michelle Spolver as senior vice president and chief communications officer.