KENNEBUNK — A Boston-based global technology investment firm has acquired Plixer, a 19-year old software company in Kennebunk, and envisions that the company is poised for growth and expansion in the realm of cybersecurity.

Plixer was founded in 1999 in Sanford by Michael Patterson and Marc Bilodeau and employs 54 workers at its Main Street location in Kennebunk.     

Terms of the transaction have not been released, but investment firm Battery Ventures said all current Plixer employees will remain with the company and veteran technology and networking executive Jeff Lindholm will assume leadership as chief executive officer.

Plixer’s mission is to support customers through high-performance network traffic analytics for fast, efficient network and security incident response. It helps customers parse network data to prevent business disruption and to avoid security breaches and hacks.

Lindholm joins Plixer after serving as senior vice president of Brocade, Arbor Networks, and Juniper Networks.

“I’m excited to partner again with Battery, which was an investor in Arbor Networks,” Lindholm said. “Specifically, I look forward to tapping the firm’s networking and enterprise-IT expertise to further innovate and expand Plixer’s product line, align with new technology partners, aggressively attract new clients and further enhance the value we are delivering to existing customers.”

Lindholm has more than 30 years of experience in the high-tech industry and has held a number of sales and marketing leadership positions at networking and telecommunications technology companies.

While with Juniper Networks, he served in key executive roles including senior vice president of worldwide sales, as well as the company’s chief marketing officer. He also formerly served as senior vice president of sales and marketing at Bigband Networks, and oversaw the direct sales organization while leading market development of next-generation video technologies for the firm.

He also was instrumental in leading the expansion of Arbor Networks’ footprint and revenues within its core markets while serving as the company’s senior vice president of field operations.

Patterson and Bilodeau will remain with Plixer, with Battery Ventures’ General Partner Russell Fleischer; Battery Principal Jordan Welu; and Battery Vice President Sabrina Chiasson joining Plixer’s board.

“We are thrilled to partner with Plixer, a bootstrapped company that Michael and Marc have built into a robust business attuned to solving the complex networking and security challenges modern companies face,” Fleischer said. “We look forward to working with them, and Jeff, to augment the company’s growth organically and through potential acquisitions. We’re also excited to back a growing technology firm based nearby in New England.”

Battery Ventures was founded in 1983 and backs companies at stages ranging from seed to private equity from offices in Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, Tel Aviv and London. It typically invests in cutting-edge, category-defining businesses in markets including software and services, web infrastructure, consumer internet, mobile and industrial technologies.

According to Bob Noel, director of Strategic Relationshships and Marketing for Plixer, joining forces with Battery Ventures is intended to boost global expansion for the company.

“We hope this investment will accelerate growth,” Noel said. “We’re well aligned to take advanatge of those opportunities.”

He said Plixer employees are excited about the chance to work with Lindholm. 

“Jeff brings us over 30 years of leadership and industry experience,” Noel said. “We’re known for our product called the Scutinizer, but we do have other products that help organizations reduce risk, improve operations and lower cost while improving application performance, and he can help us promote those products better.”

Plizer currently has more than 3,000 customers in 108 countries in industries including finance, government, technology, retail, healthcare and education.

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 ext. 326 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com