WiseKey International Holding Ltd, a leading Swiss cybersecurity company whose Class B shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, announced today that it has entered into a Letter of Intent to acquire QuoVadis Holdings Ltd, a leading managed public key infrastructure company domiciled in Bermuda with operating activities in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Britain.

WiseKey and QuoVadis intend to pursue reciprocal due diligence and negotiate definitive agreements, with the objective of signing of a binding transaction agreement by mid-February and closing by the end of the first quarter of 2017.

QuoVadis is a leading global certification authority providing trust/link-managed PKI services, including digital certificates for TLS/SSL and a wide variety of end entity uses, including eID/authentication, encryption and digital signature. QuoVadis also provides both on-premises and cloud-based solutions for sealsign electronic signature and roaming certificates, as well as trusted time-stamping.

QuoVadis has particular strength serving enterprise customers, with more than 300 large cap and 3,000 overall customers worldwide, including across Europe, the United States and Australia. For the 2016 financial year, QuoVadis expects $17 million of revenues and $3.5 million of EBITDA. Revenues in excess of $20 million and EBITDA more than $6 million are projected on a stand-alone basis for the 2017 financial year.

QuoVadis is an established qualified trust services provider, both in the European Union under the eIDAS regulation for eID and electronic transactions and in Switzerland under ZertES, with significant experience in eID including the Dutch PKIoverheid and eHerkenning and the Swiss SuisseID programmes. QuoVadis is the only TSP accredited in multiple countries with real operations on the ground, balancing services to both the public sector and the corporate markets.

This transaction will bring strong synergies to Wisekey with the large recurring customer base of QuoVadis’s proven trust/link and sealsign technologies; in-depth operations experience running multiple secure and high-availability trustcentre environments under strict accreditation regimes; and adept sales and support teams based in important customer markets, including Switzerland.

A comprehensive trusted end-to-end cybersecurity platform for people and objects (IoT)

The integration of Wisekey and QuoVadis, which follows the acquisition of VaultIC Semiconductors in September 2016, will further reinforce the WiseKey Vertical Platform, enabling it to provide crucial authentication, identity, and integrity for electronic transactions for the rapidly growing spheres of eIDAS and Internet of Things.

Strengthening services for electronic transactions under eIDAS

EIDAS oversees identification and trust services for e-transactions in the EU “digital single market” by providing a safe way for users to conduct business online across borders with a higher level of convenience and security. eIDAS created standards for which electronic signatures, Qualified digital certificates, electronic corporate seals, timestamps and other proof for authentication mechanisms enable electronic transactions with the same legal standing as transactions performed on paper. With the irrepressible movement of transactions online, eIDAS Trust Service Providers play a key role in future commerce and public sector interactions. Aragon Research predicts the revenues for digital transaction services will grow explosively to USD 30 billion by 2020.

Addressing the fast-growing IoT market

The ability to authenticate and remotely manage millions of networked, automated devices and equipment is becoming pervasive - from the factory floor, to the hospital operating room, to the residential home - everything, from refrigerators, watches, wearables to wine bottles, is connecting and communicating via the internet. The Internet of Things security market is expected to grow from $6.89 billion in 2015 to nearly $29 billion by 2020, according to a report published by Markets and Markets, thus growing at an annual rate of 35 per cent. These massively deployed connected objects are facing regular attacks, hence generating a large need for trusted end-to-end cybersecurity solutions.

Carlos Moreira, chairman and chief executive officer of WiseeKey, said of the possible transaction: “We are delighted to sign this LoI to potentially acquire QuoVadis, whose operations we have respected for many years. This acquisition will allow WiseKey to participate in the vast eIDAS ‘digital single market’ for electronic transactions as well as to position WISeKey as an essential player of the Digital Switzerland initiative, designed to make the country a major player of the fourth industrial revolution.

“QuoVadis has been a leading managed PKI provider in Europe for over a decade — with an important position in the TLS/SSL market and adding electronic signature security to hundreds of millions of online transactions — with a strong nexus serving Swiss clients in the financial, industrial and media sectors. This acquisition will be immediately accretive to WiseKey, and the QuoVadis stand-alone business is projected to add over $20 million of profitable revenues in 2017, while we explore further synergistic opportunities to grow our client base and geographic footprint.”

Roman Brunner, CEO of QuoVadis, added: “QuoVadis has built a respected position in the mPKI business over 16 years, providing a one-stop shop for large-enterprise customers requiring digital certificate and electronic signature solutions to increase the security of their electronic transactions while fulfilling the requirements under eIDAS and other enabling laws and regulations. With our excellent industry reputation, global client base, and proven sales and operations teams located in important markets, we believe QuoVadis will complement and strengthen Wisekey’s vision and drive to market.”

• For a timeline of QuoVadis as a company, from its inception in 2000, click on the PDF link under “Related Media”