Dublin-based Systemhouse Technology Group has been acquired by an Irish-owned international security firm for €7m.
The agreement will see Top Security Group, a wholly Irish-owned group of security firms in Ireland and South Africa, take a majority stake in Systemhouse, which has established itself as one of Ireland’s leading IT security and broadband communications solutions providers, specialising in providing IT products and services to government, semi-state and private sector bodies.
The Top Security Group, with offices in Dublin and Cork, provides professional security and risk management services to blue chip and government clients in Ireland and South Africa. The company employs 500 people with operations spread throughout the 26 counties. The company’s security services range from CCTV monitoring and biometrics to manned security services, ranging from retail and industrial to executive and VIP protection.
Top Security views its acquisition of Systemhouse as the means to broaden its service offerings and give it a firm foothold in the IT security space.
Top Security Group’s chief executive Emmet Rafferty commented: “Our decision to broaden the Group’s offering is grounded in our understanding of the real issues involved in identifying security threats. Systemhouse has a proven track-record and joins the Top Security Group as leader in its field. We believe there are real opportunities to grow the business further and look forward to working closely with Dermot Williams and his team.”
Commenting on the deal, Dermot Williams said: “”As part of a larger group we now have the strength to develop the business and improve the number of services which we can offer to our clients. Information security has become one of the most critical issues for businesses in all industry sectors.
“A recent survey by Symantec showed that Ireland is currently the third biggest originator of malicious software attacks per head of internet population in the world. More than anything, this shows that this is an issue which is as much as a concern for companies in Ireland, as for businesses in any other part of the world. Our agreement with Top Security means that we now have the resources to develop and enhance the range of solutions that we can offer to our customers in this area.”
By John Kennedy
