Paragon spyware maker heads to Nasdaq via SPAC deal

Paragon Solutions, the company behind the Graphite spyware, is set to become part of a publicly traded company by the end of the year. The move will bring more disclosure obligations, and it shows that the firm plans to grow.

Paragon will reach the stock market through REDLattice, the company it was merged with by its owner. REDLattice announced on Monday that it will combine with Bold Eagle Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed on the Nasdaq exchange. A SPAC is a shell company that raises money on the stock market in order to buy or merge with a private business, which gives that business a faster route to a public listing than a traditional IPO.

According to REDLattice's press release, the deal is expected to close around the end of the year. At that point Paragon will start trading on Nasdaq as part of REDLattice.

Who owns Paragon

Paragon belongs to AE Industrial Partners, a private equity firm based in Florida. AE Industrial Partners had already merged the spyware vendor with REDLattice, a cyber defense company that sells what it describes as "lawful intercept" solutions to military, defense and law enforcement agencies.

Paragon's research and development hub is still in Israel, even though the company is now under American ownership. The listing plans were first reported by CTech, part of the Israeli news outlet Calcalist.

The combined business is growing fast. In the twelve months that ended in June, Paragon and REDLattice brought in $267 million in revenue together, up 29% from the year before.

REDLattice CEO Andy Boyd said the deal would help the company expand.

"This transaction provides the capital and public market currency to accelerate our organic growth, expand our product portfolio and pursue disciplined M&A across adjacent mission-critical capabilities, while continuing to deliver for our government customers who depend on us every day," Boyd said in a statement on Monday.

Graphite and the WhatsApp targeting

Paragon's name became widely known in January 2025, when WhatsApp disclosed that the company's spyware had been used against about 90 of its users. In the weeks after that, several journalists, human rights workers and other members of civil society said their devices had been targeted with Graphite.

Those cases put Paragon in the same conversation as other commercial spyware vendors whose tools have ended up on the phones of reporters and activists, and not only on those of criminal suspects.

Investor confidence and policy concerns

Jen Roberts, associate director and fellow of cyber threats and digital policy with the Atlantic Council's Cyber Statecraft Initiative (CSI), said the decision to go public reflects "the spyware vendor's ambition and investor confidence."

Roberts also pointed to one possible upside. Once Paragon is part of a Nasdaq-listed company, it will have to share more about its activities in filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to Roberts, this will make it easier to hold the company to account.

"Public companies face disclosure requirements, and shareholders gain real levers, from proxy votes to divestment, to shape how the company behaves," she said by email.

But she added that for policymakers who are trying to "curb proliferation of these capabilities, this isn't a good sign."

Our Take

For readers who follow surveillance technology, this deal pulls in two directions at once. A listing on Nasdaq brings a spyware vendor into a system of mandatory reporting, where investors can ask questions and vote on how the business is run. That is more visibility than a privately held firm usually has to give. At the same time, a 29% jump in revenue and a plan to buy other companies suggest that the market for "lawful intercept" tools is growing, not shrinking.

The WhatsApp case shows why this matters beyond the stock market. Tools sold to governments for official use have been found on the phones of journalists and human rights workers. More capital and a bigger product range could mean these capabilities reach more customers. The deal also fits a wider pattern of closer scrutiny for companies that build tools for investigators and police, as seen in the recent case where Oxygen Forensics executives were charged over hidden ties to Russia.

It is worth watching whether the deal closes on schedule, and what REDLattice's SEC filings will actually reveal about customers, export controls and how misuse is handled. Whether shareholders use their voting rights to push for stronger safeguards is also an open question. For people at higher risk, such as journalists and activists, keeping devices updated and watching for warnings from platforms like WhatsApp remains a practical step, whatever happens on Nasdaq.