Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel) yesterday said it is to buy almost all of US cybersecurity firm Trustwave Holdings for US$810 million, adding that it is looking to become a global player in the sector.
Southeast Asia’s biggest telecom firm by revenue said it is to acquire a 98 percent equity interest in Trustwave under an agreement it signed with the company headquartered in Chicago.
Trustwave, a leading specialist in managed security services, is valued at US$850 million, Singtel said in a statement.
Trustwave chairman and chief executive Robert McCullen is to hold the other 2 percent.
“We aspire top be a global player in cybersecurity,” Singtel group chief executive Chua Sock Koong (蔡淑君) said in the statement.
“I think if you look at acquisitions outside of the traditional telco business on a single investment basis, this is the largest that we have done,” Chua said at a news conference.
Singtel said it “will leverage Trustwave’s threat intelligence, technology and talent to meet the growing demand for always-on managed security services in North America and the Asia-Pacific region.”
Trustwave — which helps firms fight cybercrime, protect their data and reduce security risks — has 3 million business subscribers who are served by 1,200 employees in 26 countries.
Singtel said that after the acquisition, Trustwave will continue to operate as an independent unit.
The purchase will also enable Trustwave to use Singtel’s vast presence in the Asia-Pacific region to “broaden its overall security portfolio and address the fast-growing emerging security market opportunity” in the region, the statement added.
Singtel holds substantial stakes in telecoms in key Asian markets including India, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.
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