F-Secure acquires MWR InfoSecurity

Finnish security company F-Secure has announced it is acquiring MWR InfoSecurity, earlier today. F-Secure said that the acquisition is a significant milestone in the execution of their growth strategy, making them one of Europe's largest single source cyber security solutions.

F-Secure is paying £80 million (€91.6m) for all the outstanding shares of MWR InfoSecurity Limited.

A maximum earn-out of £25 million (€28.6m) has also been agreed after 18 months of the completion subject to the achievement of agreed business targets for the period from the 1st of July 2018, until the 31st of December 2019.

Completion of the transaction is expected to be early July 2018.

>See also: Cyber security – the unrelenting challenge for leadership

F-Secure said that the acquisition is a significant milestone in the execution of their growth strategy, making them one of Europe’s largest single source cyber security solutions.

According to their statement, the deal was fuelled by the changing shift in the cyber security from reactive solutions towards pro-active detection and response.

A spokesperson added: “Due to the shortage of skilled cyber security experts in-house there is a huge demand for both products and services to proactively search for newly emerging threats, detect and respond faster and especially stop future incidents.”

“F-Secure’s combination of man and machine – an approach shared by MWR InfoSecurity – uniquely positions the company to support businesses to fight advanced attacks with its cyber security products and services.”

>See also: Mikko Hypponen, F-Secure – ‘I hope we get more Snowdens’

Samu Konttinen, CEO of F-Secure, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome MWR InfoSecurity’s employees to F-Secure. With their vast experience and hundreds of experts performing cyber security services on four continents, we will have unparalleled visibility into real-life cyber attacks 24/7.

“This enables us to detect indicators across an incredible breadth of attacks so we can protect our customers effectively. As most companies currently lack these capabilities, this represents a significant opportunity to accelerate F-Secure’s growth.”

“We’ve always relied on research-driven innovations executed by the best people and technology. This approach has earned MWR InfoSecurity the trust of some of the largest organisations in the world,” says MWR InfoSecurity CEO, Ian Shaw who will join F-Secure’s Leadership Team after

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Andrew Ross

As a reporter with Information Age, Andrew Ross writes articles for technology leaders; helping them manage business critical issues both for today and in the future