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Trustwave for Sale? MSSP, MDR Security Company May Gain New Owner, Report Suggests

3d rendering of question mark made up of dollar banknotes on blue background. Banking and finance. Business success. Management and production.

3d rendering of question mark made up of dollar banknotes on blue background. Banking and finance. Business success. Management and production.

Trustwave may be up for sale, and the MSSP's valuation could be roughly $200 million to $300 million, Bloomberg reported.

Trustwave, a Top 250 MSSP based in Chicago, has been owned by Singtel (Singapore Telecommunications) since 2015.

Trustwave offers MSSP and MDR (managed detection and response) security services to customers across nearly 100 countries. The MSSP employs roughly 2,000 security professionals. Key Trustwave teams include SpiderLabs -- which provides threat research and intelligence to the cyber market.

Trustwave for Sale? The Early Clues

Speculation about a Trustwave asset sale first surfaced in May 2021. Here's the timeline tracing the chatter:

  • May 2021 (early): Singtel announced a strategic review of the  Trustwave business and sister company Amobee.
  • May 2021 (late): Singtel said part -- but not all -- of Trustwave's business would tuck into Singtel's NCS organization.
  • October 2021: Trustwave sold its PCI compliance business to Sysnet Global Solutions for $80 million.
  • August 2022: Singtel is speaking with financial advisers about a potential Trustwave divestment, but considerations are preliminary and Singtel could still decide to retain the MSSP,  Bloomberg indicated. Neither Trustwave nor Singtel commented about the Bloomberg report.

    • Meanwhile, Trustwave has continued to launch new managed security services. Key introductions include supply chain security services (December 2021) and more managed detection and response (MDR) services (June 2022).

    MSSP and MDR Security Services: M&A Activity

    M&A activity across the MSSP and MDR security markets has remained steady to strong.

    At least five factors are driving the M&A activity, MSSP Alert believes.

    1. Talent: The cyber skills shortage is driving MSSPs to find talent through M&A.
    2. Threats: The growing, shifting threat landscape is inspiring M&A deals to close technology and expertise gaps.
    3. Speed to Market: Acquiring companies can often be a faster path into a new or evolving technology market or business region.
    4. Scale: Smaller MSSPs are merging to counter the scale of larger rivals.
    5. Growth: The traditional MSP market will experience 10% or so compound annual growth rates (CAGR) in the years ahead. The MSSP market, in stark contrast, is growing at an 18 percent CAGR.

      6. See more than 130 MSSP M&A deals listed here.

      Joe Panettieri

      Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.

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