A street sign for Wall Street hangs in front of the New York Stock Exchange
NEW YORK: Rubrik Inc, the cybersecurity software startup that Microsoft Corp invested in at a US$4bil valuation in 2021, plans to go public in New York as early as April, as it handles a US fraud investigation into one of its former employees, according to people familiar with the matter.
The probe, which has not been previously reported, is being carried out by the US Department of Justice and is focused on a person who worked for Rubrik’s sales division, two of the sources said.
The Department of Justice is looking into whether the former employee diverted funds paid by the US government for 110 contracts with Rubrik into an operating entity he had created, one of the sources said.
The source said the contracts were worth a total US$46mil, but did not disclose the amount allegedly diverted by the employee.Rubrik is cooperating with the investigation and hopes it will be wrapped up by the end of March so it can launch its initial public offering (IPO), the sources said.
If this pans out, Rubrik, which has already registered the IPO confidentially with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, will be a publicly traded company as early as April, the sources added.
The sources requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. Rubrik declined to comment, while the Department of Justice and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reuters reported last year that Goldman Sachs, Barclays Plc and Citigroup Inc would lead Rubrik’s IPO as underwriters.
Founded in 2014 by venture capitalist Bipul Sinha, Rubrik makes cloud-based ransomware protection and data-backup software. The company serves more than 5,000 business customers, including Nvidia Corp and Home Depot. — Reuters
