Tesserent (ASX:TNT) purchases northBDT for $5.3M

• Tesserent (TNT) has signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire security consulting firm, north BDT, for $5.3 million
• The money will be funded through $1.25 million cash on the completion of the purchase, $2 million in Tesserent shares, and $2.05 million in deferred cash payments
• Tesserent also announced the completed purchase of PS&C Limited’s Security division
• Tesserent’s share price has remained steady today, with shares trading for 4.8 cents apiece

Tesserent (TNT) has signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire security consulting firm, north BDT, for $5.3 million.

Tesserent is fully funded for this proposed purchase through a $1.25 million cash payment plus 20 million fully paid ordinary shares at $0.10.

This will be followed by deferred cash payments of $2.05 million, broken down into four $512,000 payments every six months.

north BDT is a Canberra-based consulting practice specialising in cybersecurity, digital strategy and governance, end-to-end application development and project services to its public and private sector clients.

Its team is highly experienced in providing ICT (information and communications technology) services to Australian Government agencies and bringing significant knowledge in building ICT and cybersecurity businesses.

north has a strong operating record, having delivered $6.2 million revenue and forecast to deliver in excess of $11 million in the current financial year.

This proposed purchase will give Tesserent access to north’s government and private client base in Canberra and provide it with the opportunity to grasp north’s existing customer relationships for cross sales into Tesserent’s Security Operations Centre and Splunk offerings.

This purchase will form another key piece of Tesserent’s acquisition strategy, complementing the organic growth the business is delivering under its Cyber 360 strategy.

Cyber 360 aims to provide a comprehensive security as a service offering targeted at the mid-market and enterprise clients.

“north is a logical acquisition for Tesserent as it will allow us to expand our reach within Australia into the ACT, and enable us to provide our cybersecurity offerings to north’s excellent portfolio of public and private sector customers,” Tesserent Managing Director Julian Challingsworth commented.

“The team at north will also bring their extensive knowledge in working with Australian government clients and a strong background in scaling up growth business,” he added.

Tesserent has also completed the purchase of PS&C Limited’s Security Devision and upon completion of negotiations, both parties agreed to remove the earn-out agreement from the initial terms announced.

Key terms include the purchase consideration of $14 million, it was previously $16 million, which will funded through a $9 million cash payment and 100 million fully paid ordinary shares at $0.05 each.

The $2 million cash or equity option from the initial agreement has been removed under the revised terms.

Completion of the purchase was subject to shareholder approval at Tesserent’s General Meeting held on December 3.

Following shareholder approval and the revision of the transaction terms, the acquisition has now been successfully completed and Tesserent will issue 100 million ordinary shares to vendors as non-cash consideration and pay $8 million cash consideration.

PS&C’s Security Division will make Tesserent Australia’s largest listed and dedicated cybersecurity firm, adding more than $16 million in revenue.

This addition will bring Tesserent up to a pro forma revenue forecast of $40 million in the 2020 financial year while also significantly expanding Tesserent’s customer base to all industries covering various geographies including Asia and the U.K.

Tesserent’s share price has remained steady today, with shares trading for 4.8 cents apiece in a $12.53 million market cap.