Taylor Wessing advised Kiteworks on the acquisition of ownCloud GmbH

Taylor Wessing, under the lead of Munich based partner Dr. Philip Cavaillès, has advised Kiteworks, which delivers data privacy and compliance for sensitive content communications through customer-enabled Private Content Networks (PCN), on the acquisition of ownCloud GmbH, a European leader in secure and compliant file sharing and collaboration. 

This move and the parallel acquisition of DRACOON GmbH, significantly expands Kiteworks’ market commitment, accelerating its vision to deliver the most robust and easy-to-use platform for content security and compliance on a global scale.

These two acquisitions represent a pivotal milestone in Kiteworks’ dedication to enabling organizations to securely collaborate with customers, partners, and employees through secure file and email data exchange across a PCN. ownCloud’s and DRACOON’s customers and partners have the opportunity to gain access to the expanded security and compliance capabilities of Kiteworks. Over time, the combined resources from the three companies will greatly advance data governance and controls for regulated industries in the DACH market by enabling them to realize zero-trust policy management for sensitive content communications on one platform. Further, the high level of commitment that ownCloud and DRACOON apply to the data privacy and sovereignty of their customer data is embraced by Kiteworks - from single-tenant hosting to key management and encryption that can be accessed only by the customer, giving total privacy to customer data. 

For Kiteworks, the two acquisitions give the company immediate access to ownCloud’s and DRACOON’s rapidly growing European customer bases, with key concentrations in the DACH market, that span numerous industry sectors. Recognizing the importance of having a local presence in the European market, Kiteworks plans further investments in on-the-ground teams and infrastructure to support local customers. 

About Kiteworks
Kiteworks' mission is to empower organizations to effectively manage risk in every send, share, receive, and save of sensitive content. The Kiteworks platform provides customers with a Private Content Network that delivers content governance, compliance, and protection. The platform unifies, tracks, controls, and secures sensitive content moving within, into, and out of their organization, significantly improving risk management and ensuring regulatory compliance on all sensitive content communications. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Kiteworks protects over 35 million end users for over 3,800 global enterprises and government agencies.

About ownCloud
ownCloud develops and provides open-source software for content collaboration, allowing teams to easily share and work on files seamlessly regardless of device or location. More than 200 million users worldwide use ownCloud as an alternative to public clouds - and thereby opt for more digital sovereignty, security, and data protection. 

Legal advisers of Kiteworks:
Taylor Wessing Germany: Dr. Philip Cavaillès (Lead Partner), Inken Brandt (Associate), Fritz Krings (Associate), Henrik Grawe (Associate) (all Corporate/M&A, Munich), Jan Feuerhake (Salary Partner), Dr. Fabian Masurat (Senior Associate), Kira Raguse (Associate), (all Technology, Media & Telecoms, Hamburg), Dr. Michael Kieffer (Partner), Maximilian Höving (Associate, Commercial) (both Munich), Dr. Michael Beer (Salary Partner), Dr. Jan Grawe (Salary Partner), Dr. Klara Pototzky (Senior Associate), Annika Meyer (Associate), Dr. Sara Thienhaus (Senior Associate), Christine Conzen (all Employment, Munich and Frankfurt), Dr. Michael Brüggemann (Partner), Malke Kristina Zimmermann (Associate), Dr. Stefan Horn (Salary Partner) (all Competition, EU & Trade, Dusseldorf and Hamburg), Rudi Hasenberg (Salary Partner, Tax), Ulf Gosejacob (Partner, Banking & Finance) (both Frankfurt).

Taylor Wessing UK: Philip Shepherd (Partner), Sarah Cole (Senior Counsel), Nicola Caton (Senior Associate) (all Corporate/M&A, London and San Francisco).