Orange picks up SecureLink to bolster security ambitions
Firm makes a move for pan-European managed security services player as part of plans to take a market leader position
Orange has inked an agreement to acquire Securelink for €515m as part of a move designed to give the telco specialist the chance to gain a leadership position in the cyber security market.
SecureLink is usually the firm doing the buying and has grown the business to a stage where it brings in €248m in revenues operating in the UK, Nordics, Belgium, Dutch and German markets.
The deal will give Orange an on-the-ground presence in 8 countries and push its revenues past the €500m point with a total of 1,800 staff and comes just a few months after it struck a similar deal to acquire SecureData.
“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," said Hugues Foulon, executive director of cybersecurity at Orange.
"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," he added.
SecureLink has acquired on a fairly regular basis over the last few years as it looked to expand its own footprint. In February the firm picked up Belguim-based Zionsecurity and last year the CEO indicated that it had intended strengthening its operations in the UK.
Speaking about the Orange deal, Thomas Fetten, CEO at SecureLink, said that it had been impressed with the ambition its new owner had to become a leader in the cybersecurity space.
"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," he said.
