SOUTH AFRICA – Allied Electronics Corporation (Altron). has revealed that it has acquired digital trust services and cyber information security solutions company Lawtrust from Etion for US$17 million, to position itself as a one-stop-shop for all that its digital and information security.

The acquisition was still subject to South Africa’s Competition Commission approval.

Altron chief executive Mteto Nyati said security was one of their key growth areas, in addition to Cloud, Data and Automation.

“What differentiates Lawtrust is the level of intellectual property they own and an annuity base of 70 percent. These are key characteristics of the Altron 2.0 strategy,” Nyati said.

The acquisition of Lawtrust follows that of Ubusha Technologies in 2019 and Nyati said the acquisition has formed the foundation of Altron Security.

“It has proven to be a great acquisition as customers accelerated their digital transformation due to Covid-19 pandemic”

Mteto Nyati – CEO, Altron

“It has proven to be a great acquisition as customers accelerated their digital transformation due to Covid-19 pandemic.”

“The acquisition of Lawtrust positions Altron Security as a one-stop shop for all that is digital and information security,” he said.

Lawtrust currently a range of security services in the IT space, including authentication, encryption, digital signatures, and biometrics to more than 500 customers in the private and public sectors and is considered one of the leading cyber and information security companies in South Africa.

Etion said its share price does not reflect the underlying intrinsic value of the businesses in the group and its board therefore started a process last year to unlock shareholder value. The Lawtrust sale forms part of this plan, it said.

The value of the net assets of Lawtrust as of 30 September 2020 was US$7.1 million. In the six months to end-September 2020, Lawtrust generated profit of US$1.5 million (including intra-group charges).

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