Digital security specialist Gemalto has bought data protection company SafeNet in a bid to offer customers a complete security solution from core to edge.
Gemalto said concerns about data protection had never been higher, claiming almost 400 million digital data records have gone missing or been stolen so far this year.
Safenet’s data protection products focus on computer networks and the internet, including advanced cryptographic key management systems, encryption technologies, authentication servers and authentication as a service. Its customers include the likes of Cisco, Dell, Netflix and Bank of America.
The deal will cost Gemalto $890 million (€664 million) and will be completed by the end of this year. By adding SafeNet’s range of core security products, Gemalto said the acquisition would bolster its own portfolio, which protects users’ devices and connected terminals. Gemalto said the deal would help boost its profit target of €600 million by 2017 by 10 percent.
Gemalto CEO Olivier Piou said there was a “perfect fit” between the two company’s capabilities. He added: “The opportunity to acquire SafeNet has come at exactly the right time…[It] will enable us to further accelerate the deployment of strong security solutions in the enterprise sector, and expand our technologies and growth opportunities in protecting online access”.
SafeNet President and SEO Prakash Panjwani added: “The combination of our portfolios will allow customers to have access to the world’s leading security products for mobile and cloud, delivering best-in-class protection of data and identities.”
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