Sonae IM buys Luxembourg majority position in cybersecurity
Sonae Investment Management (Sonae IM), Sonae’s technology investment area, today announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Excellium, Luxembourg’s leading provider of cybersecurity services in Belgium.
According to Sonae IM, Excellium, which has more than 100 specialists, provides professional services and managed, in particular, through its proprietary cybersecurity management solution – SOC Eyeguard (‘security operations centre’).
“The company has a customer base that includes the most prestigious financial institutions, government entities and other economic groups active in Benelux,” Sonae IM said.
Excellium and S21sec – a company already in the portfolio of Sonae IM, leader and pioneer in the Iberian cybersecurity services sector, with a relevant presence in Latin America – reinforce its portfolio of services and services. technologies, enabling customers to access an even more complete, innovative and integrated offering of cybersecurity solutions. ”
According to the company, this investment “is particularly important” at a time when cybercrime has grown exponentially, since “it increases the capacity of innovation of both companies, for the provision of highly specialized services in the fight against these threats. ”
The European scale of these two companies, “present in several countries, will allow them to address the growing demand of all organizations and, more specifically, the needs of large companies in the European area, ensuring a fast and fast response from highly qualified teams. specialized, close to the customer, “he adds.
“In the context of the current fragmentation of the cybersecurity market, this consolidation process positions Excellium and S21sec as one of the independent European leaders of managed security services with more than 500 professionals and the ability to accelerate its growth plan”, says Sonae IM.
“This operation strengthens our position as one of Europe’s leaders in the area of cybersecurity. In addition to the quality of the management team and the credibility the company has in the market, Excellium represents our gateway to Europe’s high added value markets central, ” says Carlos Alberto Silva, executive director of Sonae IM, quoted in a statement.
“Following the acquisition of Sysvalue in Portugal in 2016 and the merger of S21sec with Nextel in Spain in 2018, this transaction reinforces our commitment to consolidate the sector and, in addition, it is a relevant milestone in our trajectory, being our tenth investment in cybersecurity since 2014, ” says the manager.
Excellium’s managing partner, Christophe Bianco, “at Sonae IM, Excellium has found not only a financial investor but also a knowledgeable partner who has distinctive assets in the area of cybersecurity.”
“[That] gives us the ability to write a new chapter in the company’s development, with expanded capabilities and capabilities,” he concluded.
Sonae IM is the Sonae Group company focused on investing in technology companies in the areas of cybersecurity, telecommunications and retail.
Currently, it has more than 20 direct investments in companies with high technological potential and in development phases ranging from the initial phase to the growth phase.
Sonae IM has also invested as a limited partner in three funds managed by Armilar Venture Partners which hold stakes in 22 companies, including Outsystems and Feedzai.
Excellium Services was founded five years ago in Luxembourg and currently has a presence in six other countries (Belgium, France, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire), supporting more than 140 customers.
