Orange has acquired Belgian tech firm, SecureLink in the biggest venture into cyber security in the telecommunication giant’s history.
Reported in the Financial Times, it was revealed that factoring in deb, Antwerp-based SecureLink is valued at €515 million.
Currently owned by Investcorp, the firm operates in eight European countries and pulled in €248 million last year. The cyber security takeover represents Orange’s largest acquisition since it bought up Airtel assets in Africa in 2016.
As businesses around the world push to galvanise data privacy practices, Orange’s move represents the second major cyber-security shift the company has made in 2019. It acquired UK security firm, SecureData in February for an unknown amount.
The developments are indicative of Orange’s acknowledgement of the growing importance of privacy and data protection, in light of the company’s growth ambitions. Industry competitors, BT, have also honed in on the opportunities security holds for growth regarding its Global Services division which holds around 2,600 workers globally.
French-owned Orange has said that its cyber companies, including Orange Cyberdefence, now employ 1,800 workers across the biggest markets in the Eurozone. They operate in conjunction with Orange Business Services which has a global customer base of around 3,000.
Executive director of cyber security at Orange, Hugues Foulon, has said that the deal would make Orange the “go-to defence specialist” owing to its scale and the geographic reach of the businesses.
“Cybersecurity is a growing priority for companies of all sizes and we believe the two most important success factors are scale and proximity,” Foulon said.
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