Anticipating this demand, IAR Systems has entered into a share sale and purchase agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in Secure Thingz, a provider of advanced security solutions for embedded systems in the IoT.
"With the increasing number of connected devices, our customers are facing new challenges. One of the major challenges is how to deliver secure products in a world where even minor failures can lead to major consequences," commented Stefan Skarin, CEO, IAR Systems. "As a first step, our customers need help mainly protecting themselves against overproduction and IP theft, and we are responding to this need with a new offering that provides possibilities to create modern workflow where security is included from start.
IAR had previously acquired around 20% of the shares, but increased its sharehold to 100% due to its ‘strong belief that Secure Thingz' solutions can create the necessary security in a world of connected devices and products’.
According to the report, IoT Global Forecast & Analysis 2015-2025 from Machina Research, there will be 27 billion IoT connections in 2025.
Despite rapidly growing security threats, secure products currently make up just 4% of the total number of IoT products available on the market, according to ABI Research (IoT Perspective - From Design to Life Cycle Management).
The purchase price for the remaining 80% totalled approximately £20 million. This includes a share issue in kind of 125,000 class B shares to Secure Thingz' founder and newly appointed CEO, Haydn Povey, and a rollover of an existing stock option program for the employees in Secure Thingz.
The share issue in kind to Haydn Povey will be resolved by the board pursuant to the authorisation granted at the Annual General Meeting held in 2017. Povey will remain as CEO.
The rollover of the existing stock option program is conditional upon approval by the shareholders of IAR Systems.
Completion of the transaction is expected to occur on April 11, 2018.
“The acquisition of Secure Thingz is a step in our increased ambition for future growth through new technology, new markets, new business models, and new relationships. It also secures our position as a frontrunner in a changing industry," Skarin concluded.
