Risk management body DNV is to acquire Finland’s Nixu in a move that will “create one of Europe’s fastest growing cyber security services businesses”.
Following a public tender offer, the Norwegian group took ownership of more than 93% of Nixu’s shares for around £83 million.
Following a process to acquire the remaining shares, DNV will absorb the firm’s operations, before de-listing it from the Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange.
The combination of the two companies will result in a cyber security team of more than 500 experts working across multiple industries – from energy and maritime to telecommunications and financial services.
DNV and Nixu will also combine their cyber security certification businesses.
“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. By joining forces with Nixu we will make cyberspace a more secure place with even greater impact than either company could achieve alone. Together, we will shape the future through cyber security, enabling more than 100,000 customers, their systems and their supply chains to manage emerging risks,” said Remi Eriksen, group president and chief executive of DNV.
Nixu CEO Teemu Salmi will lead the combined cyber security services business, bringing together experts from DNV, Nixu and Applied Risk – an industrial cyber security specialist acquired by DNV in 2021 – into one business.
The combined business will operate across Europe from hubs in Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and Romania with focus on rapid organic growth and further strategic acquisitions and partnerships globally.
“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. DNV and Nixu will not only join forces with each other, we will work in partnership with our customers and the security community at large to drive innovation and industry best practice to ensure business resilience and safeguard society,” said Mr Salmi.
