NCC acquires Swiss franchise
IT security and assurance group NCC has taken control of its Swiss franchise operation.
The Manchester-based group flagged up the move in a trading statement last month and today said it had bought the remaining 76% of Escrow Europe Switzerland.
NCC acquired its original 24% stake when it bought Zurich-based Escrow Europe in January 2008 for around £9m.
Describing the deal as an “earnings enhancing acquisition”, NCC said it will increase the group’s share of the European escrow market and develop its international presence.
It said the consideration of around £500,000 would have no impact on the group’s net debt position and will be paid for out of group cash flows. The subsidiary is expected to bring in revenue of £160,000 in its first year.
NCC specialises in protecting IT systems from hackers and provides software insurance services through its escrow division. This allows companies to protect against the collapse of a software developer by placing vital information, such as the software source codes, with a third party like NCC.
NCC’s chief executive Rob Cotton said: “This earnings enhancing acquisition is another step in strengthening our position as the world’s largest escrow provider and further demonstrates our commitment to customer service.
“Research shows that, whilst 97% of organisations depend on business-critical software applications, only 18% protect all of these with escrow solutions which in these financially unstable times represent a significant and unacceptable corporate risk.”
