Cyberoo, a listed Italian cybersecurity specialist, could explore an external equity investment to fund its expansion plans, including M&A, in the near future, according to Chief Marketing Officer Veronica Leonardi.

The company is experiencing “extremely high interest” from private equity funds and industry players, but is currently resisting these advances as it focuses on rapidly scaling its domestic business in Italy, Leonardi said on the sidelines of the Mid & Small Cap Conference at the Italian Stock Exchange in Milan on 2 and 3 December.

However, within 18 to 24 months, the company could engage with interested parties as it looks to speed up the execution of its domestic growth strategy as well as further push on its internationalisation plans, she added.

Should the company pursue external funding, it would consider evaluating proposals only for a minority stake from financial partners showing deep sector knowledge and that could act as an “accelerator” for the business, she said.

Cyberoo listed on the Borsa Italiana in 2019 to gain scale in the Italian market and “we are continuing to grow,” Leonardi said.

In the first six months of 2025, Cyberoo reported revenues of EUR 9m, with cybersecurity revenues growing by 2.39% to EUR 6.69m from EUR 6.54m in 1H24, according to a company’s press release.  The company’s EBITDA margin stood at 20.91% in 1H25, a decrease from the 27.88% achieved in the same period of 2024 due to strategic investments in the Keatrix platform, a proprietary artificial intelligence system for the detection of an automated response to cyber threats, the release said.

An analyst report by Alantra highlighted that during a post results call, Cyberoo management indicated that approximately EUR 3.5m (about 50% of Keatrix investment plan) is yet to be executed, with spending anticipated in 2026.

However, the report added that the company’s proprietary generative AI-driven SaaS solution will provide an important growth vector, with a material top-line contribution projected from 2026. Cyberoo’s growth will also be supported by its entry into Spain, its increasing presence in Poland, and expansion into new geographies, both organically and via M&A, as per the report.

M&A strategy

Cyberoo’s M&A approach is opportunistic, with the company focused on consolidating its current market position, Leonardi said. Any M&A transaction would be pursued only if the fit is “truly strategic”.

As preferred takeover candidates, Cyberoo would favour small security operations centres (SOCs)  focused on incident response, she said.

Besides its current operations in Poland and Spain, plans to enter new European countries by 2029 could be executed via M&A.

Leonardi expressed a specific interest in France and Germany, describing such countries as the most challenging due to their high barriers to entry. “M&A in these countries would be of interest because it would allow us to deliver services in the local language with greater speed, and we would immediately operate as a local player,” she added.

However, the company’s focus on M&A in international markets is contingent on how successfully it scales in the domestic market, she said.

Established by the Italian entrepreneur Fabio Leonardi, father of Veronica, in 2008 as an IT devices seller, Cyberoo began specialising in cybersecurity services in 2017.

Cyberoo listed on the AIM segment of the Italian Stock Exchange in October 2019, floating 26.32% of its shares and raising gross proceeds of EUR 7.15m, according to a company press release. 

The company has a market cap of EUR 59.4m.