International classification society and risk management firm DNV has announced plans to acquire Helsinki-headquartered cyber security firm Nixu.
Under the agreement, DNV will acquire over 93% of Nixu’s shares and move to acquire the remaining shares before delisting Nixu from the Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange. DNV has already initiated a public tender offer for the remaining shares.
DNV says the deal is valued 98 million euros (~$107 million) and will create one of Europe’s fastest-growing cyber security businesses with a team of more than 500 cyber security experts.
The new cyber security services business will provide a market-leading portfolio of consulting and services to manage cyber risks and build resilience across multiple industries, from energy and maritime to telecommunications and financial services. The deal will also combine the two companies’ cyber security certification businesses.
DNV’s President and CEO Remi Eriksen said the companies will work together to make cyberspace more secure and manage emerging risks for over 100,000 customers and their supply chains.
“In this decade of transformations, fulfilling our purpose of safeguarding life, property, and the environment is no longer restricted to managing risk for physical systems – it must now cover many distributed and interlinked cyber-physical systems,” Eriksen said.
The acquisition comes amid the ever-growing cyber threat on maritime assets and critical infrastructure. DNV itself fell victim to a cyber attack earlier this year when its fleet management software fell victim to a ransomware attack, impacting some 1,000 vessels.
Nixu CEO Teemu Salmi will lead the new business, which will include experts from DNV, Nixu and Applied Risk, an industrial cyber security specialist acquired by DNV in 2021. The combined business will operate across Europe, including in Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and Romania.
“This is an exciting time. With more than 500 cyber security professionals and expertise across multiple disciplines, we are creating a leading European cyber security services business. We have the scale to bring even greater value to our customers and be an exceptional place to work for cyber security professionals,” said Teemu Salmi, CEO, Nixu.
DNV said its focus will be on achieving rapid organic growth, as well as pursuing strategic acquisitions and partnerships on a global scale.
DNV has initiated a subsequent tender offer period for Nixu shares, with a deadline of 16:00 EET on June 26, 2023.
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