Bird & Bird acted for NASDAQ OMX Helsinki listed cyber security company F-Secure on its acquisition of MWR InfoSecurity, a privately held cyber security company with its main offices in the UK, the US, South Africa and Singapore. The Bird & Bird team was coordinated by Shing Lo in London and Maria Carlsson in Finland, with the support of Mikko Ahonen in Helsinki and Richard Bloomfield in London.
With close to 400 employees, MWR InfoSecurity is among the largest cyber security service providers serving enterprises globally. The acquisition makes F-Secure the largest single source of cyber security services and detection and response solutions in Europe.
F-Secure will pay a total consideration of up to £105 million to acquire MWR InfoSecurity, including an initial cash consideration of £80 million and an earn-out of a maximum of £25 million in cash payable subject to the achievement of certain agreed business targets. The acquisition is expected to be completed in early July 2018.
Maria Carlsson, as the F-Secure client relationship partner said: "It has been a pleasure working with F-Secure on this high-paced transaction. We were able to provide the cutting edge sector knowledge on the tech M&A side that the client was looking for, together with a seamless cross-border service in the relevant jurisdictions. I am very proud of our team for their excellent work on this deal."
Commenting on the transaction, Shing Lo said: “We are proud to be advising F-Secure on its strategic acquisition of MWR InfoSecurity. This is a significant acquisition for F-Secure and positions F-Secure as one of the leading global cyber security service providers. In 2017, we advised F-Secure on its acquisition of Digital Assurance. Tiina Sarhimaa, Michiel Visser and the other members of the F-Secure M&A team are a great pleasure to work with.”
Tiina Sarhimaa, Vice President, General Counsel of F-Secure said: “Once again the Bird & Bird team did an excellent job. This was a complex transaction with multiple stakeholders. The professional and responsive Bird & Bird team was critical to the successful execution of the transaction.”
