Cybersecurity company Kontex Security has been acquired by Ekco Cloud, making the latter the second-largest Irish-owned firm in the space
Deal details were not disclosed.
Kontex Security was founded in 2015 by Patrick O’Callaghan and is based in Dublin.
Kontex Security Ltd was owned by directors Patrick O’Callaghan (50%), Mike Perez (40%), Cathal Slattery (5% and Frank Renehan (55).
The company increased headcount by eight to 24 people in the year to March 2021, with the salary overhead increasing from €860,000 to €1.7m.
In Association with
The company booked a loss of €3,000 compared with a surplus of €580,000 in 2019/20. Period-end trade debtors amounted to €1.1m and total liabilities were €1.4m.
Kontex Security has balance sheet cash of €1.3m in March 2021 when net worth was €1.1m.
Ekco Cloud was founded by Eoin Blacklock and Jonathan Crowe in 2017 and is based in Malahide. Investors include Pageant Holdings and Act Venture Capital.
Ekco chief executive Eoin Blacklock said: “We are delighted to announce that the Ekco family is expanding again, with the addition of Kontex.
“Kontex is a well-established and well-respected Irish information security businesses. It is a fantastic addition to our suite of offerings and will offer great help to customers and their growing requirement for cyber security solutions.
“Their service portfolio is very complimentary to that of Ward Solutions, also part of the Ekco family, and offers increased capability in our delivery of the full cyber security lifecycle, from governance and compliance strategy, cloud security solutions, managed security and incident response.
“Kontex currently employs 50 full-time people plus some additional contract personnel. We look forward to helping them grow into the future.”
The deal is one of at least six M&A deals in the cybersecurity area this year. Others include the acquisitions of Cyber Risk Aware, Ansec, Riverlite, Gary IT and Caretower.
In the transaction, Ekco was advised by general counsel Niall McCooey and a Dentons Ireland team of Ciaran O’Boyle and Sarah Holland. Kontek was advised by Alan O'Driscoll, Jonathan O'Beirne and Anna Vaughan of Flynn O’Driscoll.
Photo: Ekco principals Eoin Blacklock (left) and Jonathan Crowe
