Orange is buying Dutch cybersecurity specialist SecureLink on a €515m enterprise value basis.
The company is one of the largest independent cybersecurity services providers in Europe, with on-the-ground presences in Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Denmark and Norway.
Founded in 2003, SecureLink provides a range of cybersecurity services to support its clients. Its offering includes specialised security consulting, security maintenance and support with 24/7 service desks (SOCs) as well as advanced managed detection and response capabilities (MDR). The group is also a leading value-added reseller of security software and hardware solutions, holding more than 1000 technical or sales accreditations with blue chip security vendors. With over 660 employees and 14 offices, SecureLink recorded IFRS revenues of €248m in 2018 and served over 2,100 customers across a broad range of industries.
With this acquisition, Orange says it becomes one of the European cybersecurity players with 1800 employees, more than €600m revenues in 2018 and positions in major local markets through its European DNA and a comprehensive cybersecurity services offering.
The European cybersecurity market is growing rapidly and Orange is already a leading player in the French market through Orange Cyberdefense (€303m revenues in 2018, up 12% vs. 2017). Along with the acquisition of SecureData in January 2019, this transaction accelerates Orange’s strategy to become a pan-European leader in cybersecurity services.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to complete in late Q2 or in Q3 2019.
“Cybersecurity is a growing priority for companies of all sizes, and we believe the two most important success factors are Scale and Proximity. 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 defense teams in all the main European markets, positioning the combined organisation as the go-to defense specialist.” said Hugues Foulon, Executive Director of Cybersecurity at Orange. “I am looking forward to building the integrated organisation with Michel [Van Den Berghe, CEO of Orange Cyberdefense], Thomas Fetten and all the teams”.
