Cyber safety platform Family Zone (ASX:FZO) recently raised $42 million through a two-tranche placement of new shares at $0.34 each.
Funds raised will be used to acquire Qustodio, a parental control software business founded in 2012.
The acquisition will offer expertise, capability, scale, new markets, operational efficiencies and strengthen Family Zone’s balance sheet to support future growth opportunities.
Shaw and Partners and Euroz Hartleys were joint lead managers and underwriters. Argonaut and BW Equities were co-managers.
Founded by Tim Levy in 2014, Family Zone develops cyber security tools for parents and schools to protect children from digital harm.
Features include blocking adult content, enforcing screen time restrictions, filtering internet searches and limiting in-app purchases.
Family Zone was listed on the ASX in 2016, in a $6 million initial public offering.
The company has grown massively, largely due to its acquisition strategy. So far, Family Zone has successfully acquired and integrated 6 companies into their online safety ecosystem: Sonar, Linewize, ySafe, Smoothwall, NetRef and Cipafilter.
Speaking on its most recent acquisition of Qustodio, Mr Levy said he was extremely pleased with the strong support and commitment shown from both their existing institutional and high net worth shareholders.
The bringing together of Qustodio and Family Zone will be seen in time as a turning point in online safety globally. We are honoured and excited to be welcoming Qustodio team into our family.
Tim Levy, Family Zone founder and managing director
Qustodio was co-founded by Eduardo Cruz, Jose Gaspar and Joshua Gabel in Barcelona. It is a well known parental controls operator which distributes its products and services broadly across the world.
Qustodio has a highly resolved product which will be well suited to offer through Family Zone’s 24,000 school footprint.
“Qustodio and Family Zone share the view of a better world where schools, parents and children can work together to create safe and enriching online experiences,” said Mr Cruz.
“This shared vision has led us to unite forces and bring game changing unified approaches in online safety to market. Our combination represents the creation of a truly global leader in online safety with unmatched scale and capabilities.”
