Orange has completed a big-money takeover of cyber security firm SecureLink.
The telecoms giant has acquired 100 per cent of SecureLink on a €515m enterprise value basis.
The transaction is expected to complete in late Q2 or in Q3 of this year.
With €248m revenues in 2018 and 660 employees, Netherlands-based SecureLink is one of the largest independent cyber security services providers in Europe, with on-the-ground presences in the UK, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Norway.
Founded in 2003, it offers specialised security consulting, security maintenance and support as well as advanced managed detection and response.
The group is also a leading value-added reseller of security software and hardware solutions, holding more than 1,000 technical or sales accreditations with blue chip security vendors.
Orange claims it is now one of the European leaders of cyber security with 1,800 employees, more than €600m revenues and strong positions in major local markets.
SecureLink’s senior management will join Orange’s global leadership team.
“Cyber security is a growing priority for companies of all sizes, and we believe the two most important success factors are Scale and Proximity,” said Hugues Foulon, executive director of cybersecurity at Orange.
“Scale because today’s threats are global, complex, and require matching protection capabilities. Proximity because in the global IT world, you want a trusted local partner to secure your most strategic assets.
“With the acquisition of SecureData and SecureLink, Orange has the highest scale to anticipate and fend off attacks, as well as local defence teams in all the main European markets, positioning the combined organisation as the go-to defense specialist.”
Thomas Fetten, CEO at SecureLink, commented: “We have been very impressed by the ambition and successful development of Orange Cyberdefense over the past few years, and are very excited to build a pan-European leader of cybersecurity together.
“Orange Cyberdefense, SecureData and SecureLink are highly complementary and share a common vision for the sector, and the combined organisation will be in a phenomenal position to address the needs of our customers, partners and employees.”