Dominic O'Hanlon
Australian distributor Rhipe has hedged its bets on the cyber security market with the acquisition of emt Distribution.
As part of the deal, Rhipe will pay A$11 million cash upfront for the security’s specialist’s Australian and Asian businesses, with its Middle East business also included in the line-up.
Once completed, emt’s CEO Richard Rundle will join Rhipe to oversee the new division, alongside the expansion of the distributor's security offering to its existing SMB-focused customers.
“As we enter our next stage of growth, we are thrilled to be joining the Rhipe family to collectively execute on the opportunities ahead,” Rundle said. “I could not be prouder of our team’s success to date and believe this is a significant opportunity to align with a distributor of Rhipe’s calibre, to greatly enhance our capabilities and market reach.”
Headquartered in Adelaide, emt Distribution has the likes of Airlock, Bluedog Security Monitoring, Matrix42 and Thycotic in its vendor portfolio. The business also recently signed deals with Netsparker and Acunetix.
According to publicly listed Rhipe, the deal will contribute to A$2 million of operating profit to its bottom line, although a further A$2 million payout is due to emt based on its reported financial performance of over the first 24 months.
In an update to Rhipe shareholders, emt was said to have sales of A$19 million and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of A$1.9 million in last 12 months of the year in Australia and Asia.
The deal will also include emt’s Middle East business, which has 19 employees in Dubai with underlying EBITDA of approximately A$500,000 in the 12 months to 31 December 2020.
“emt Distribution has an incredible track record in delivering software security products and solutions via their distribution channels,” said Rhipe CEO Dominic O’Hanlon. “By combining emt’s expertise insecurity with Rhipe’s reach, we will be able to offer partners across APAC effective solutions to protect against growing threats around cyber security.”
O’Hanlon said the deal would also provide emt’s partners with access to its recently launched SmartEncrypt and security vendor products.
