TMCnet News
IAR Systems Acquires Secure ThingzUPPSALA, Sweden, March 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Swedish company IAR Systems Group AB ("IAR Systems") has today entered into a share sale and purchase agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Secure Thingz, Inc. ("Secure Thingz"), a provider of advanced security solutions for embedded systems in the Internet of Things (IoT). With the acquisition, IAR Systems secures its position as a frontrunner in offering solutions for security in embedded systems. The transaction Completion of the transaction is expected to occur on April 11, 2018. IAR Systems Group intends to finance the acquisition either with support from a credit facility or by a directed share issue. Both these options, as well as a combination of them, are at the board's disposal for financing the acquisition. In the third quarter of 2017, IAR Systems Group expanded its credit limit by SEK 200 million for the purpose of increasing the flexibility to act in connection with acquisitions. The board has engaged a financial advisor to evaluate the possibility of conducting a directed share issue of class B shares. Secure Thingz Secure Thingz was founded in 2016 by staff with extensive experience from Arm®, the leading processor architecture provider. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, and has an office in San José, California. Secure Thingz develops and sells products and services for implementation of embedded security in connected devices. The company has provided security solutions for the development platform Renesas Synergy™ Platform through its Secure Deploy™ platform offerings, which is developed in order to solve the major security challenges faced by companies developing for the IoT. A renowned security expert and an Executive Board Member of the IoT Security Foundation, the company's founder Haydn Povey has held senior management roles at leading global technology companies for over 20 years, including more than 10 years within marketing and business development at Arm. He most recently headed Arm's strategy for security across mobile, enterprise and IoT domains, where he among other things worked with groups within the US and UK governments responsible for the development and deployment of security frameworks. Previously, Haydn Povey led the development and introduction of the Arm Cortex®-M microprocessor family, which now dominates the embedded and IoT-markets and whose large market impact enabled the rapid adoption of 32-bit microcontroller technology around the globe. Haydn Povey will continue to operate Secure Thingz as CEO. Secure Thingz is in an early phase and so far shows a limited historic turn-over. For 2017, the company declared net sales of 0.5 MUSD and an operating loss of 1.8 MUSD. Background and acquisition rationale In April 2017, IAR Systems announced that it was taking an initial 10 percent equity stake in Secure Thingz, and the stake subsequently has been expanded to approximately 20 percent. The company has noted that security is becoming a crucial success factor for many of its customers, whether it is protecting intellectual property and managing the product lifecycle, or ensuring critical infrastructure. This investment was instigated because IAR Systems has a strong belief that Secure Thingz' solutions can create the necessary security in a world of connected devices and products. In February 2018, the product Embedded Trust™ was launched. Developed in partnership between IAR Systems and Secure Thingz, Embedded Trust enables secure development and makes security part of the development workflow. Embedded Trust enables companies to safeguard intellectual property against overproduction and counterfeiting, manage software updates in a robust way, and protect end users from malware intrusion and theft or loss of data. IAR Systems is receiving a large number of requests from customers interested in getting access to the technology and the product will be available for selected customers in Q2 2018. "With the increasing number of connected devices, our customers are facing new challenges. One of the major challenges is how to deliver secure products in a world where even minor failures can lead to major consequences," comments Stefan Skarin, CEO, IAR Systems. "As a first step, our customers need help mainly protecting themselves against overproduction and IP theft, and we are responding to this need with a new offering that provides possibilities to create modern workflow where security is included from start. The acquisition of Secure Thingz is a step in our increased ambition for future growth through new technology, new markets, new business models, and new relationships. It also secures our position as a frontrunner in a changing industry." "We are very excited to become a part of the highly competent IAR Systems team," says Haydn Povey, CEO, Secure Thingz. "We have already established a smooth collaboration with the development of Embedded Trust, and our combined resources within technology, sales and customer support will enable us to accelerate the development of the innovative security solutions that the digital products market so desperately needs." "The acquisition of Secure Thingz enables us to provide new solutions for security in embedded systems and help our customers make security part of an integrated workflow," says Anders Holmberg, Director of Corporate Development, IAR Systems. "Our joint technical capacity and skillset will be unprecedented in the industry and we are building a strong foundation for future growth in the security segment." The combined company Over the last several years, IAR Systems has delivered solutions to ensure functional safety in embedded systems. With the investment in Secure Thingz, IAR Systems extends its offering to also include security, a field which is currently the focus of the digital products market and is expected to grow substantially in the years to come. The acquisition provides the companies with a strong combined capacity for creating future products and services. IAR Systems Contacts Stefan Skarin This information is information that IAR Systems Group AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08.15 CET on March 21, 2018. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/iar-systems-group-ab/r/iar-systems-acquires-secure-thingz,c2476783 The following files are available for download: View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iar-systems-acquires-secure-thingz-300617344.html SOURCE IAR Systems Group AB |