Cybersecurity Startup Snyk Considers Buyout Interest as IPO Plans Stall

Snyk, a startup that sells security tools for developers, seemed like a shoo-in for a lucrative initial public offering a few years ago. Sales were doubling or tripling every year, reaching into the hundreds of millions of dollars annually, as exploding corporate use of open-source software code created vulnerabilities that businesses needed to patch. Snyk’s valuation soared to more than $8 billion.

Now, the decade-old company seems stuck. The tech IPO market is humming, but Snyk’s potential offering has stalled. Its revenue growth slowed to 12% in the quarter that ended in June, according to a person with direct knowledge of the financial figures, lower than the growth rate at larger, publicly traded peers. The Boston-based company has been talking to potential private equity firms about a buyout, but Snyk rejected a proposal that was less than half its last private valuation, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The revenue figure and recent sales talks haven’t been previously reported.