18/12/2017 – Singapore telecom firm StarHub has inked a deal to acquire hown-grown cryptography and digital security company D’Crypt for a maximum consideration of S$122 million (about US$90.4 million).
The acquisition will be paid in cash and fully funded with internal resources. It will be run in two phases whereby Phase 1 will see the completion of 65 percent by early 2018 while Phase 2 will complete the remaining 35 percent by the first half of 2021.
Following the completion of Phase 2, D’Crypt will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of StarHub. This includes the firm’s solutions capabilities in cryptographic and digital security, secured info-communications technologies (ICT), and IoT.
“The enterprise business is a key pillar of our growth strategy and this strategic investment will further expand the breadth and depth of our enterprise solutions,” said Tan Tong Hai, the CEO of StarHub.
“D’Crypt’s deep engineering and R&D expertise will allow us to develop new intellectual property and products which meet our customers’ requirements in addition to supporting Singapore’s Smart Nation initiatives,” he added.
Other StarHub subsidiaries include StarHub Mobile Pte Ltd, StarHub Cable Vision, StarHub Online Pte Ltd, StarHub Internet, Nucleus Connect, and Accel Systems & Technologies Pte Ltd.
Founded in 2000 by Antony Ng, D’Crypt provides cryptographic technology for high-security applications, systems and products. The company designs and produces solutions in fields such as encrypted communications and high-performance computing.
D’Crypt’s net value was reportedly over US$16.8 million in the financial year to December 31, 2016. A signature project by D’Crypt is the computational and security technology behind Singapore’s Electronic Road Pricing In-Vehicle Unit.
Commenting on the deal, Chief Executive Officer of D’Crypt Anthony Ng said “StartHub’s ambition in cyber security and deep technology, their clear commitment to their customers and partners, as well as the value they place on the team in D’Crypt has been important in cementing this relationship.”
“In addition to the significant alignment in our complementary capabilities, being part of StarHub will allow D’Crypt to deliver more innovative products and systems for ever more challenging applications and discerning customers,” he added.
Pro-acquisition, D’Crypt will operate as a standalone StarHub subsidiary and will continue to be led by the current management team.
