Defence group BAE Systems has agreed the terms of a bid for financial services technology firm Norkom Group that values the company at €217 million.

The offer will give Norkom shareholders €2.10 in cash for each share they own. Norkom's board is recommending the offer to shareholders.

TVC Holdings owns a 28.9 per cent stake in the firm, valued at €41.7 million by BAE's offer.

Under the conditions of the deal, BAE sought undertakings from all Norkom directors, senior management team, and TVC Holdings to accept the offer in respect of almost 45 per cent of the entire issued share capital of Norkom.

"With TVC's dominant shareholding premium offered for Norkom shares, shareholder approval is unlikely to prove a stumbling block to the deal closing," Davy analyst Simon McGrotty wrote in a note.

"As of September 30th, TVC had cash on its balance sheet of €31.4 million, representing 37 per cent of its equity value. Today's announcement will increase its cash position to €73.1 million and its book value to €109.4 million or €1.08 per share."

Norkom's chief executive Paul Kerley said the deal would strengthen Norkom further.

"I am delighted that within BAE Systems we have found a home for Norkom that shares the same enthusiasm and ambition to build a truly great company in a growing market space," he said. "Norkom's technology platform together with BAE Systems' complementary technology and rich knowledge of the security space will create a fantastic opportunity to bring additional offerings to the market."

BAE chief executive Ian King said the countering of financial crime is a priority for governments and financial institutions. "There is a compelling logic to the combination of Detica’s NetReveal product and the complementary capabilities and customer reach of Norkom," he said.

"The combination will result in a significantly enhanced offering for customers and present an opportunity for accelerated growth for the BAE Systems Group in the fast growing cyber and intelligence services sector.”