The Thales Group has announced the signing of a definitive agreement with Sonae Investment Management to acquire two of Europe's leading cybersecurity MSSP (Managed Security Services Provider) companies, Spain's S21sec and Excellium, part of the holding company Maxive Cybersecurity since 2020 as a result of the Portuguese group's investments. The operation has been valued at €120 million.

The acquisition will strengthen the French group's cyber security portfolio, especially in incident detection and response services, grouped together in security operation centres (SOC), and in the area of consulting, auditing and integration. It will also provide them with extensive experience and a strong and diversified customer and supplier base.

New recruitments
The two additions bring the total number of employees to 546, 75% of whom are located in nine offices in Spain and Portugal. The remaining 25% work in Luxembourg and Belgium. These locations will help to expand Thales' cyber security presence in Europe. The new owner also plans to hire 1,000 people in the same area this year, as part of an ambitious plan to increase its total workforce by 11,000 people worldwide.

Specialising in cyber security services, S21Sec brings more than 400 security experts and a global multiSOC spread across two physical locations. Its goal is to help its customers transform their business by managing cyber security risks and protecting their people and assets.

Growth forecast
Thales offers services at all levels of the cyber security value chain and expects this market to grow by around 10% by 2025, especially for consulting and managed services. The company's Executive Vice President of Secure Communications and Information Systems, Marc Darmon, said, "The acquisition of S21sec and Excellium consolidates our leadership in cyber security consulting and managed services.

S21sec CEO Agustín Muñoz-Grandes pointed out, "We are very excited about the start of this new phase for S21sec within the Thales Group, as we believe that this operation will enable us to develop S21sec's skills, know-how, experience and services on a global scale.

Sonae Investment Management, which acquired S21sec in 2014, also values the deal. Managing partner Carlos Alberto Silva said "As the company's majority shareholder, we have helped S21sec to triple its yearly revenue, consolidating its history of innovation and specialisation and helping it become one of Europe's leading MSSP companies.

^{Photo: S21sec}