Managing a Cybersecurity Acquisition by a Global Tech Giant

20 total media placements

5 tier 1 interviews

1st interview within an hour

Announcing a Major Acquisition

It’s not every day that your company gets acquired by Samsung. That’s why, for Kaprica Security, the pending acquisition of its mobile device configuration and security spinoff, Tachyon, was such a big deal. Two months prior to the acquisition, Kaprica Security engaged ARPR for a simple, yet very important project: to help maximize awareness of its M&A. But that wasn’t the only objective Kaprica had. With another spinoff, RunSafe Security, baking in development, Kaprica wished to capitalize on the press attention not just to validate the Tachyon brand, but also to help promote awareness among the investor community for its next disruptive technology.

When the Buyer is Samsung

As tech PR pros, hearing that you get to invoke one of your clients, Samsung and M&A together in one sentence is music to your ears. But early on, Samsung made it very clear that this project wouldn’t be so easy due to negative press of its Galaxy s7 recall. In fact, Samsung immediately indicated that it would not offer any comments or participate in any interviews. Not settling for no as an answer, ARPR drafted a quote that we thought could pass the corporate communications test. And when combined with Kaprica’s relationship to Samsung, the quote did just that. Even armed with the acquirer’s validation, however, ARPR recommended an elongated pre-pitch period (under embargo) because of concerns that no access to Samsung might be a deal breaker with some media, especially since Kaprica was a little-known brand. With Kaprica Security’s approval on strategy, ARPR aggressively researched targeted media, created a media Q&A to ensure that both Tachyon and RunSafe were included in the key messages, pre-drafted social content and prepped the CEO with talking points. And then, the pitching began…

Going Out With a Bang

The very first pitch distributed went to Techcrunch, and in less than an hour, we had an interview lined up and an agreement to hold publishing of the story until later in the week. Within hours, ARPR had secured 5 more interviews with press spanning M&A/venture capital, cybersecurity, enterprise mobility, D.C. local publications and more. As the project ended 10-days later, ARPR presented Kaprica Security with a results report that included high-profile media coverage in Techcrunch, The Street, Dark Reading, Fortune, MergerMarket and 15 other outlets within its target audience. In addition, because of the preparation of key messages, mention of RunSafe Security made it into every single article, thus completing one of the clients primary objectives. Fast forward 2 months later, and RunSafe Security and ARPR formed a long-term partnership.