Stefanini Group is further expanding into the global cybersecurity market with its acquisition of Protega, a Brazil-based security provider.
This is technology M&A deal number 86 that MSSP Alert and sister site ChannelE2E have covered so far in 2024. See more than 2,000 technology M&A deals for 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020 listed here. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Stefanini has 32,000 employees and a presence in more than 2,000 cities and 41 countries across the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia. The corporate global headquarters is located in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with its European headquarters in Brussels and the North American headquarters in Detroit.
Stefanini’s cybersecurity practice grew 80% last year, and projects continued strong growth in 2024 with revenue expected to surpass $40 million, according to the company.
"As part of our aggressive investment plan for the coming years, we will allocate $200 million to new acquisitions by 2026, with the cybersecurity area being one of our priorities," said Marco Stefanini, Stefanini's founder and global CEO. "As the cybersecurity market continues to grow, this acquisition will allow us to proactively shield companies of different sizes across many industries from financial and reputational losses."
Protega Channels Cyber Market Growth
Stefanini Group expects at least $50 million in global revenue in 2024, and over the past 22 years has completed nearly 10,000 security projects and more than 360,000 protected corporate devices, according to the company. Accordingly, Protega will help Stefanini better serve its clients during a time of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
Protega, which has offices in Brazil and New York City, specializes in managed security services, software and hardware integration and consultancy in governance, risks and compliance.
"This union will increase the capability, commercial strength and internationalization of the Stefanini Group's cybersecurity platform," said Luis Gestavo Pereira, co-founder and CEO of Protega, which will continue to operate under its own name. "As our teams complement each other's specialties, we are prepared to offer current and new customers cutting-edge cybersecurity services."
Stefanini also recently hired Orion Czarnecki as the head of cybersecurity for North America/Asia-Pacific “to ensure continued growth and success in its portfolio.”
Stefanini Explores Partnerships, Acquisitions
In May 2023, Stefanini Cyber Defense announced that it is using the Shield-IoT Coreset-AI Asset Management and Threat Prevention Platform to help its customers protect their IoT and industrial IoT (IIoT) devices, applications and networks against cyberattacks, MSSP Alert reported.
The new service lets users generate security alerts and analyze device-to-cloud traffic statistics to detect cyberattacks before they can disrupt their networks, data or IoT or IIoT services. It also provides insights into different types of security events and their severity and minimizes the risk of data theft and ransomware and critical infrastructure attacks.
In March 2023, Stefanini Group acquired cybersecurity firm Safeway Consultancy. Safeway then joined Stefanini’s Cyber Smart Defense business, along with Stefanini Rafael, a joint venture with RAFAEL, an Israeli technology company focused on military security.
Commenting on the Protega acquisition, Safeway CEO Umberto Rosti said, "The acquisition of Protega, one of the largest integrators of renowned manufacturers such as Fortinet and Trend Micro, significantly strengthens our cybersecurity platform and consolidates our strategy of offering comprehensive service as a cybersecurity, GRC and compliance enabler for our clients around the world. We are confident that this acquisition will not only expand our market share in cybersecurity, but also enrich our platform with its remarkable flexibility and ability to meet the needs of our customers' businesses."
