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Singtel acquires Trustwave in $810M security services deal

Singapore telco buys a 98 percent stake in U.S. managed security services provider, Trustwave, as part of efforts to beef up its cloud offerings.
Written by Eileen Yu, Senior Contributing Editor

Singtel has inked a deal to acquire a 98 percent equity interest in Trustwave for an estimated US$810 million, as the Singapore carrier looks to beef up its cloud and managed services portfolio.

Headquartered in Chicago, U.S.A, Trustwave offers hosted services in threat, vulnerability, and compliance management, and has more than three million business subscribers. It has presence in 26 countries across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, with a global headcount of 1,200 that includes security professionals in its forensic and threat research security unit, SpiderLabs. It operates five security operation centers and nine engineering centers.

Trustwave Chairman and CEO Robert J. McCullen will retain the remaining 2 percent stake in the company.

According to Singtel, Trustwave will continue to operate independently as a separate business unit after the acquisition has been finalized, but will tap the telco's assets and market presence to expand its portfolio and address market opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.

On its end, Singtel said the purchase will expand its current cloud-based offerings and footprint in the managed services market.

The estimated US$810 million deal excludes net debt and is subject to the necessary approvals from regulatory authorities and other third parties, Singtel said. The transaction also is expected to be EBITDA positive from the second year of acquisition and its earnings will be included in Singtel's earnings from the third year, the telco said.

The acquisition is projected to complete in three to six months' time, it added.

In October last year, Singtel signed a five-year agreement with FireEye to set up cybersecurity monitoring facilities in Singapore and Sydney, as well as provide cloud data service for enterprises looking to store their data locally. Worth US$50 million, the deal will fund infrastructure and manpower resources for two Advanced Security Operation Centres (ASOCs).

That same month, the Singapore telco also inked a partnership with Microsoft to provide a Cloud Operating System Network, which allows enterprises in Asia-Pacific to move their data and workload between various cloud environments, including public, private, and SingTel's own virtual private cloud.

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