Private equity firm Sunstone Partners has acquired and merged three managed security services providers (MSSPs). The merger -- involving Sword & Shield, Terra Verde and TruShield -- creates a new national cybersecurity service provider & consulting firm called Avertium. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Knoxville, Tennessee-based Sword & Shield was a Top 100 MSSP ahead of the deal. The combined company, Avertium, will provide advisory, managed, and training services to more than 1,000 active mid- to large-sized customers.
Sword & Shield CEO and President John McNeely commented on the deal:
“Our willingness and ability to listen to our customers and respond to their needs resulted in programs that facilitated our success and gained Sunstone’s attention. With the additional resources a growth equity firm provides, we can better serve the middle market and provide enhanced services for enterprise customers.”
Avertium’s Layout
Avertium will be organized into an East and West division. The former Sword & Shield and TruShield will comprise Avertium’s East operations, while Terra Verde will serve as the West location while providing a second security operations center (SOC) to existing customers. McNeely has assumed the role of general manager for Avertium’s East operations.
Jeff Schmidt, Avertium CEO, also commented on the deal:
“We believe cybersecurity is elemental and is a core component that should exist within any company operating in the 21st century. Through Avertium we have an opportunity to fuse the unique services, capabilities and solutions from all three of these award-winning companies together, to create more value for customers while delivering the next generation of cyber and compliance solutions and services into the market.”
The combined company will have more than 150 employees with SOCs in Arizona and Tennessee. The company will serve more than 1,800 customers across a variety of private and governmental sectors.
MSSP Mergers and Acquisitions: The List
This is the latest in a growing list of MSSP mergers, acquisitions, investments and funding deals that we've tracked.
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