Solar Group aims to acquire 3-4 data security solution developers in 2024
MOSCOW. May 15 (Interfax) - Solar Group (Rostelecom-Solar/RTC-Solar), the information security subsidiary of Russian telecom provider Rostelecom , plans to acquire three or four developers of information security solutions before the end of this year, Solar CEO Igor Lyapunov said.
"We will close three to four deals to acquire tech stacks before the end of the year," Lyapunov told reporters in Moscow. He declined to name the developers or the specific technologies they work on because, he said, some developers are the only significant players in their segments.
However, he said that Solar is developing in the direction of being a vendor of information security solutions and the group now has more than 10 product projects/teams. The company expects its vendor business to generate about 30% of revenue.
These are the funds that Solar intends to use for mergers and acquisitions if this makes sense.
"We're considering alternatives - to develop a given solution or technology ourselves or acquire the developer of the necessary product. Acquiring a development company and integrating it into the group takes a year or more, so we're looking at what is better for us in such a time period - to develop the technology independently or nonetheless opt for a deal."
In April, Solar acquired a controlling 51% stake in Secure-T LLC, a developer of solutions to increase cyber literacy.
"The deal, consisting of several stages, has been successfully completed. The team of founders is staying in management and will work on developing the product, while we, in turn, will help them in this with our expertise, expand sales channels and increase the number of users of the service," Solar's director of asset management and M&A, Igor Kheresh said at the time.
At the end of 2022, Solar announced the launch of an investment program totaling 22 billion rubles, which it plans to use to promote the growth of its own solutions and acquire stakes in mature companies and startups.
Solar Group increased its consolidated revenue by 36% to 17.3 billion rubles in 2023. Its OIBDA rose 46% to 5.6 billion rubles from 3.8 billion rubles a year earlier.
Solar provides information security solutions to organizations ranging from small businesses to the largest companies in key sectors. Its customers include more than 850 of the largest companies in Russia. Solar has divisions in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Rostov, Tomsk, Khabarovsk and Izhevsk.