Irish company AdaptiveMobileSecurity acquired in €45m deal

Irish tech company AdaptiveMobileSecurity has been acquired in a €45 million deal by Swedish telecoms software firm Enea.

The company was founded in Dublin in 2006. Its products protect mobile networks, their subscribers and data from network-borne security attacks.

AdaptiveMobile Security’s products and services have been deployed by more than 80 mobile operators globally. Its two main customer segments are mobile operators and providers of communication platforms. More than half of its revenue is recurring, and the solutions are sold as software licences, managed services or cloud services.

The company, which employs 135 offices across Dublin, Dallas, Brno, Dubai and Hyderabad, recorded revenues of €15.5 million in 2020 and it is guiding turnover of €17 million for this year.

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It estimates its products are used to protect more than 2.2 billion mobile subscribers globally. Customers include AT&T, Twilio and T Mobile. Adaptive is a privately held company, with Intel Capital and Doughty Hanson & Co as majority shareholders. Enterprise Ireland is also a shareholder.

The deal for the company is expected to be completed by the end of the month. Following this, AdaptiveMobile Security will continue to operate under its current brand as a new business unit within Enea, headed by current chief executive Brian Collins, also a shareholder.

“We are thrilled to become part of Enea, a well-respected leader in the telecommunications and security markets,” he said. “We are aligned on market strategy and can leverage product synergies that will drive market and customer penetration. Our unique offering of security products will enhance Enea’s product offerings, especially in the area of 5G.”

“It is critical to protect mobile networks against an ever-increasing threat landscape to maintain the integrity of national and international communications. Together with Enea, we can now serve a wider range of customers and offer an unrivalled combination of networking and security expertise,” Mr Collins added.

Enterprise value

Enea said the enterprise value of AdaptiveMobile Security was €45 million on a cash and debt free basis.

It estimates the acquisition will be earnings per share accretive from the fourth quarter of 2021. The company said it expected to further improve the operating margin of the acquired business to near Enea’s overall profitability target by the end of 2022.

Enea, which has its headquarters in Stockholm, is a provider of cloud-native products that are used to enable services for mobile subscribers, enterprise customers and the internet of things. More than three billion people are estimated to rely on its products.

The company reported net sales of SEK439.9 million (€42.9 million) for the first six months of 2021.

“As the global leader in mobile network security, AdaptiveMobile Security expands our market presence and broadens our offering to operators, creating interesting opportunities in areas such as 5G security,” said its president and chief executive, Jan Häglund.

PwC acted as financial adviser and Pinsent Masons as legal adviser to Enea on the acquisition, with Pegasus and Byrne Wallace advising AdaptiveMobile Security.