Geoff Lord (Tesserent)
Publicly-listed cyber security solutions provider Tesserent has struck a deal to acquire Canberra’s Ludus Cyber Security, a consultancy firm specialising in bespoke offensive cybersecurity services.
The deal, reached via the signing of a share purchase agreement executed between both parties, will see Ludus absorbed by Tesserent’s Canberra-based North Security to further enhance its existing government offering.
The acquisition of Ludus, headed up by director and former UXC Saltbush security specialist George Stewart, rounds out Tesserent’s efforts to become the largest end-to-end cyber security services provider in the Canberra market, with more than 180 locally-based cyber security specialists.
This follows the previous acquisitions of Seer Security, North Security and Pure Security, all of whom service Federal Government departments and agencies.
Ludus, while modest in size, has a solid operating record and is immediately earnings and cash flow accretive to the Tesserent group, the company told shareholders.
Ludus achieved in excess of $1.2 million revenue and $350,000 in sustainable earnings in FY20, with strong revenue and earnings forecast for FY21, the company said.
Importantly, Tesserent noted, the firm’s financial position is underpinned by multiple locked-in federal government contracts, and it expects to achieve strong financial growth from synergies as Ludus is integrated into North Security.
“With the Federal Government’s significant investment into cyber security and our comprehensive offering, as identified by the Austrade report, this positionsTesserent as a key player in securing Australia’s sovereignty, whilst taking advantage of the rapidly growing Canberra market,” Tesserent chairman and UXC founder Geoff Lord said.
“Having someone as well-respected as George Stewart and his team at Ludus will be a real boost to our operations in Canberra and improve our already strong reputation within federal government departments and agencies. George’s appetite to take the majority of this consideration in TNT [Tesserent] shares highlights his confidence in Tesserent’s vision.”
The acquisition is being fully funded through Tesserent’s existing cash reserves. The consideration for the acquisition of Ludus is a mix of $536,000 in cash and 4.3 million Tesserent shares issued at 22.41 cents per share, subject to shareholder approval if required prior to completion.
Tesserent’s latest acquisition comes just days after it announced it had snapped up Sydney security provider Airloom as part of its ongoing investment in its Cyber 360 strategy.
The managed security provider will pay $6 million in cash, plus 40 million shares, giving a total price of $14.8 million at the share value at the time of writing of $0.22.
Airloom, an F5 Networks partner, posted gross revenue of $27 million for the 2020 financial year and will bring several multi-year contracts to Tesserent.
