Visa acquires BioCatch from Permira in USD2.4b deal
Visa has agreed to acquire BioCatch, the Israeli-founded fraud detection company, from funds advised by Permira and other shareholders in a USD 2.4 billion cash transaction.
BioCatch uses AI-powered behavioral biometrics to help financial institutions distinguish legitimate users from fraudsters in real time. The company’s platform analyzes digital behavior across more than 1.8 billion devices and 760 million users globally, helping banks and other customers detect account takeover, social engineering scams, mule accounts, and other forms of financial crime.
Permira first invested in BioCatch in 2023 and became the company’s majority shareholder in 2024, in a transaction that valued BioCatch at USD 1.3 billion. The sale to Visa marks a significant return for the private equity firm and one of the largest recent Israeli fintech and cybersecurity exits.
Herzog and Skadden advised Visa, with the Herzog team led by Michal Herzfeld, Ory Nacht, Ben Pask, Ehab Farah, Shachar Porat, Ofer Granot, Dor Furer, Orly Katzir, Chen Davidian, Karen Elburg, Adi Golding, Olga Pery, Ophir Jan, Anna Landau, Noy Timor, Irit Roth, Neta Dorfman Raviv, Adina Rabinowicz, Eyal Marcus, Ariel Simkhyaev, and Ariel Cohen.
Meitar acted for BioCatch, with a team of Dorin Pendus, David Glatt, Shmuel Lieberman, Ekaterina Voldman, Tzachi Roich, Maya Ben Tov, Victor Terner, Guy Ovadia, Tal Weintroib, and Dana Yagur.
Erdinast, Ben Nathan, Toledano and Latham & Watkins represented Permira in the transaction. The EBN team was led by Doni Toledano, Nitzan Aberbach, Kobi Barkan, Yael Benyayer, Eran Lempert, Tal Alon, Tomer Weissman, Eyal Birenberg, and Lior Etgar.
