Czech energy group CEZ sells stake in Israeli CyberX to Microsoft

Prague, June 22 (CTK) - Czech power utility CEZ has sold its minority stake in Israeli cybersecurity company CyberX to Microsoft, holding the share for 15 months via its investment fund Inven Capital, CEZ spokeswoman Alice Horakova told CTK today.

Microsoft bought shares of all investors and thus became the sole owner of CyberX, Horakova said without disclosing the transaction price.

Overall, Microsoft paid USD165m (Kc3.9bn) for the company, CNBC.com reported.

This is the second successful sale in five years of Inven Capital's existence, Horakova said. Last year, the fund sold a stake in a German producer of home battery storage systems to company Shell.

"The acquisition of CyberX by Microsoft, one of the biggest and best-known companies in the world, proves that the Inven Capital investment was a well though out step," CEZ board member Tomas Pleskac said, adding that the initial capital multiplied in a short period of time.

Inven Capital contains up to Kc5bn and looks into hundreds of investment opportunities a year, according to earlier information.

Microsoft's offer for CEZ's share in CyberX significantly exceeded the minimum requirement for return on investment, and it was a 100 percent acquisition based on the agreement of all shareholders, which comes with a special bonus, Inven Capital head Petr Mikovec said.

CyberX was the second Israeli company for Inven Capital after Driivz, a company operating in the field of charging stations, Horakova said.

Inven Capital examines a few tens of investment opportunities a year in Israel, she said.

CyberX was established in 2013 and its technology partners include IBM, Deutsche Telekom, Palo Alto Networks, DXC Technology, Splunk, Optiv and McAfee, according to earlier information.

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