ZorroSign CEO Interviewed by Mergermarket

by Siddesh Mayenkar for Mergermarket

ZorroSign, a data security platform built on blockchain, is in talks to acquire US-based firms in data record and storage and learning-management systems, said co-founder and CEO Shamsh Hadi.

The Phoenix-based company would also like exposure to verticals including finance and healthcare, the executive told this news service. Targets are expected to give them access to new customers and technology.

Established in 2015, ZorroSign uses digital signature technology to create a unified platform delivering data privacy and security on blockchain, according to its website. It has 69 employees in its offices in the US, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, and India. Around half of its headcount is involved in software development and research and development in Sri Lanka, he explained.

Its biggest market is the US, but the company has witnessed recent traction in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, he noted. Hadi, along with a UAE-based family, are the majority owners of the company, followed by employees.

In the past few years, the company received takeover approaches. In 2018, he said a NYSE-listed healthcare and insurance company approached ZorroSign for a potential takeover. Hadi declined as it was an all-stock offer and the bidder asked to drop all its customers and focus on them, he said.

In January 2020, a US-based consultancy firm approached ZorroSign for a takeover, but the offer was declined, the CEO said, without giving a reason.

“If you see our competitive landscape there is no product that is out there,” he said, when asked why the company is attractive.

Hadi declined to provide revenue but claimed “exponential growth.”

It plans to roll out the platform’s mobile app by the end of the month. It is also in talks with a company for the licensing of its patents which it sees as a “potential growth opportunity” in the future, he explained.

Competitors include DocuSign, Microsoft, Adobe and Google, the co-founder said.

Originally published by Mergermarket on January 4, 2024