Very Successful Exit for HTGF: DRACOON joins Kiteworks

November 22, 2023

• DRACOON joins Kiteworks. As part of the deal, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) will sell its shares. 
• HTGF was the first institutional investor in the seed round in 2010. 
• HTGF has actively supported DRACOON through various stages of its development, backing it on its way to becoming a leading player in the field of enterprise file sharing and collaboration.

DRACOON is a fast-growing market leader in the field of enterprise file sharing and collaboration in German-speaking countries. The highly secure, platform-independent software is available in cloud, hybrid, and on-premises versions.

High-Tech Gründerfonds was the first institutional investor backing DRACOON on its journey to becoming a significant player in the field of enterprise file management. HTGF’s former investment manager, Björn Momsen, joined the management team in 2019 and has been a key driver for sustainable growth.

“We are excited to welcome DRACOON into the growing Kiteworks family,” said Jonathan Yaron, Chairman and CEO at Kiteworks. “Our collective resources and expertise further strengthen our focus on championing data security and compliance through strategic deployment of Private Content Networks on a global scale. The companies share a commitment to securing sensitive customer content without compromising user experience and productivity across sensitive content communication channels. Kiteworks’ commitment to data privacy remains strong with the merger. As with DRACOON, Kiteworks has no ability to access customer keys or data and our core values of trust and privacy guide everything that we do.”

“Together with Kiteworks, we enhance our comprehensive and reliable data security solutions for our customers,” said Dr. Björn Momsen, Managing Director, DRACOON.

Marc Schieder, Managing Director at DRACOON, concurred with Momsen, “Kiteworks’ commitment to national and international security standards aligns perfectly with our focus and that of our customers. We are excited about the opportunities this union brings.”

Markus Kreßmann, Partner at HTGF, added: “DRACOON recognized the need for a greater emphasis on data sovereignty very early on. We were the first institutional investor to share this vision and have been closely accompanying DRACOON since 2010. The company has undergone a major transformation and has been able to set the course for growth in the recent years by bringing in new investors. The exit is now the next logical milestone for DRACOON. As an outstanding management duo, Marc Schieder and Björn Momsen have led the company to this extraordinary success in a structured manner. We look forward to Kiteworks’ and DRACOON’s continued focus on data privacy and data sovereignty, which we believe is a critical requirement for today’s digital communications. I would also like to thank the existing investors and shareholders who have always pulled in the same direction.”

The shareholders of DRACOON were advised by Stephens (M&A), LUTZ|ABEL (Legal), and COUNSEL (Tax). Kiteworks was advised by Taylor Wessing, Weksler Bregman & Co., and FISCHER (FBC & Co.) (Legal), AC CHRISTES & PARTNER (Financial & Tax), and Singular (Commercial).

About Kiteworks 
Kiteworks’ mission is to empower organizations to effectively manage risk in every send, share, receive, and save of sensitive content. The Kiteworks platform provides customers with a Private Content Network that delivers content governance, compliance, and protection. The platform unifies, tracks, controls, and secures sensitive content moving within, into, and out of their organization, significantly improving risk management and ensuring regulatory compliance on all sensitive content communications. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Kiteworks protects over 35 million end users for over 3,800 global enterprises and government agencies.

About DRACOON
DRACOON provides secure file sharing and collaboration services to over 500,000 users worldwide, including major companies across industries like transportation, finance, healthcare, and more. With industry-specific solutions and certifications like BSI C5, IPW PS 951, and ISO 27001, 27017, and 27018 that meet the highest security standards, DRACOON enables efficient and compliant file sharing, along with features like encrypted email and cloud drive integration. Trusted by Deutsche Bahn, Thyssenkrupp, Telekom, Helios Kliniken, and other leading organizations, DRACOON ensures people everywhere can collaborate securely and efficiently.

About High-Tech Gründerfonds  
The seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) finances tech start-ups with growth potential and has supported more than 700 start-ups since 2005. With the launch of its fourth fund, HTGF now has about 1.4 billion euros under management. Its team of experienced investment managers and start-up experts support young companies with expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and passion. HTGF’s focus is on high-tech start-ups in the fields of digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences, chemistry and related business areas. To date, external investors have injected about 5 billion euros of capital into the HTGF portfolio via more than 2,000 follow-on financing rounds. In addition, HTGF has already successfully sold shares in more than 170 companies.
Fund investors in this public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital and 45 companies from a wide range of industries.

Media contact
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Tobias Jacob, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager 
T.: +49 228 – 82300 – 121
t.jacob@htgf.de