Tenable makes key move toward a potential IPO: report

According to a report from Reuters, Tenable Network Security is taking a step toward a potential IPO.
The Columbia-based cybersecurity company hired Morgan Stanley as the investment bank to lead an initial public offering, which could be valued between $1.5 and $2 billion, sources told the news service.
There was no official word from the company.
Reuters notes that it’s rare for cybersecurity companies to have an initial public offering, as public market investors have been “wary of many of these companies’ ability to constantly advance their software to stay on top of hackers and attacks.”
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Company leaders are often asked, including by us, about a potential IPO. Speculation arose in January when the company publicly disclosed the fact that it made $189 million in revenue in 2017 to outlets like Fortune and Crunchbase. The former saw it in part as an effort to “make the case the company is on track for an IPO.”
Tenable’s last big funding splash came in 2015, when it raised a $250 million Series B. That was the largest-ever funding round for a cybersecurity company, and was seen as a big boost for Maryland. The company has since brought on new CEO Amit Yoran, who took the helm after cofounder Ron Gula stepped down.
It’s been showing other signs of growth. Late last year, Tenable announced plans to relocate its headquarters to a new development in downtown Columbia. And this week the company said it hired Bridgett Paradise as Chief People Officer to create strategies that will to “drive Tenable’s next phase of growth and international expansion.”
The most recent local IPO came last year when Baltimore-based Laureate Education re-entered public markets.