Baltimore Technologies Buys CyberTrust for $150 Million

By Maura Ginty | January 17, 2000
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Irish online security company Baltimore Technologies plc Monday said it spent $150 million on the purchase of CyberTrust Solutions Inc. from GTE's Contel Federal Systems Inc.

Under the terms of the all-stock deal, Baltimore Technologies (BALT) expects to gain U.S.- and Japan-based hosting facilities, which were built on a previous $25 million injection, and a foothold in the US securities market. The company will also access CyberTrust's U.S. sales services.

The buy is primarily expected to bolster Baltimore Technologies' position in the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) subset of the online security market. CyberTrust claims heavyweight status in the blue-chip client arena, and its portfolio includes services for American Express, Mastercard, Deutsche Telecom, Swisskey, Telecom Italia and Sonera.

"In line with the strategy that was outlined in our recent NASDAQ offering, this acquisition is one of a continuing number of strategic global moves for Baltimore Technologies, creating the e-security company for the 21st century," said Fran Rooney, Baltimore Technologies' Chief Executive Officer.

"The acquisition of a leading U.S. based PKI vendor makes Baltimore Technologies one of the strongest single worldwide sources for e-business and mobile commerce security," said Rooney. "The CyberTrust business will give us world class hosting facilities, extend our excellent blue-chip client base, and enhance our U.S.-based corporate structure with minimal overlap in products and services."

The final number of shares to be tranferred will be determined by the 10-day pre-close average, and Baltimore Technologies has also set aside 1.4 million shares for CyberTrust employees.

CyberTrust has been operating in Japan since 1997, while Baltimore Technologies has headquarters in Dublin, London, and Sydney.