As a leading cyber consulting company for Government and Defence, Tesserent provides a full suite of cyber security solutions and services to medium and enterprise-level organisations.

This acquisition would enable Thales to accelerate its cyber security development roadmap and expand its footprint in Australia and New Zealand. With already €1.5bn (circa A$2.5bn) in cyber security sales in 2022, Thales is a global leader in this field.

The combination of Tesserent and Thales would provide advanced services to address cyber security needs in Australia and New Zealand, including in the Government and Defence sectors. Powered by the proximity with customers, this combination would address the most sophisticated needs with enhanced service capabilities and high-performance solutions.

Unanimously recommended by Tesserent's Board of Directors, this acquisition is subject to Tesserent’s shareholders’ approval and certain other customary conditions.

The combination of Thales and Tesserent will create an experienced provider of much needed cybersecurity services in Australia and New Zealand at a time when the market is expecting double-digit growth through to 2026.

The Tesserent business will continue to be known as Tesserent, and its visual identity will incorporate the “Cyber Solutions by Thales” tagline. It will become the lead cyber security offering of Thales Australia and New Zealand. It will accelerate the growth of cyber solutions operations for Thales customers in Australia and New Zealand, supported by the scale, balance sheet and know-how of the global Thales business.

As a global leader in cyber security, Thales is involved at every level of the cyber value chain, offering solutions ranging from risk assessment to protection of critical infrastructure, supported by comprehensive threat detection and response capabilities. Its offer is built around three families of cybersecurity products and services, which generated sales of €1.5bn in 2022:

• Global security products around the Ciphertrust Data Security Platform the Safenet Trusted Access Identity & Access Management as a service solution, and the broader cloud protection & licensing offerings.

• Sovereign protection products including encryptors and sensors to protect critical information systems

• Cybels solutions portfolio, a complete suite of cyber security services including risk assessment, training and simulation, and cyber attack  detection and response

Kurt Hansen, CEO of Tesserent, said: “I am thrilled that, through the proposed transaction, Tesserent teams would be joining Thales, a global leader in cybersecurity. Together we will address the growing cyber needs in our country, including those of the Australian Government and Defence sectors. I am convinced this transaction would represent a great opportunity to further grow Tesserent’s business and its people.”

Jeff Connolly, CEO of Thales Australia, said: “With the acquisition of Tesserent and its highly skilled team of cyber experts, and combined with our own system engineering experts, Thales Australia will establish an Australian/New Zealand leader in cyber defence able to best protect the country and its national infrastructure from cyber threats.

The Tesserent team will have access to global expertise and a strong balance sheet to provide local Australian and New Zealand businesses both a sophisticated and wide cybersecurity offering in a fragmented market.

After the acquisition of S21sec, Excellium and Onewelcome in Europe in 2022, we continue to accelerate our global cyber security strategy and consolidate our leadership in cyber security, both for critical infrastructure as well as multinational companies.”

Recommended by all members of the Tesserent Board, the implementation of the Scheme is subject to Tesserent shareholders’ and court approval. In addition, the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. It is expected to be completed during the second half of 2023.