26 June 2000  

Strategic breakthrough in global growth market:

Norway-based computer security specialist Norman ASA is concluding an exclusive letter of intent today on acquiring the Czech computer security company AEC Ltd. AEC is one of the few companies in the world, which has developed base technology and products for securing e-commerce, e-mail and bank services on the Internet.

Access to this public key infrastructure (PKI) technology, which provides secure authentication using digital signatures, will be the principal benefit of the acquisition for Norman. AEC is executing Certification Authority issuing digital certificates. AEC is also under the accreditation of National Security Agency. Norman aims to finalise the acquisition by 1 September, once the due diligence process has been completed.

Tremendous potential

"Acquiring AEC will position us as a substantial player in the fast-growing market for securing bank services on the Internet, e-commerce and e-mail," says president Bjørn Fosli at Norman. "This market has few players today, and is dominated by companies such as Baltimore Technologies and Entrust Technologies. In addition to the products, AEC will give us a highly competent development team centrally located in Europe."

According to Datamonitor in 1999, PKI product revenues in the U.S. stood at $158 million and $58 million in Europe. However by 2003, the product revenues will be $627 million in the U.S. and $545 million in Europe. Revenues from PKI products and services in Europe and the US will grow from $641million in 1999 to $3.5 billion in 2003.

"Strategic breakthrough"

He adds that the acquisition represents a strategic breakthrough for Norman. "Demand for PKI-based products and services is exploding as the authorities, companies and individuals increasingly appreciate the huge risks involved in using the net for commercial and payment transactions without any form of security solution."

Focus on sales and distribution

Norman's new product family will be marketed and sold through its existing network, which comprises more than 1500 partners world-wide. New channels will also be developed, particularly for major projects on e-commerce and network security. "With this acquisition, we're now very well covered for products and technology," comments Mr Fosli. "As a result, we'll be focusing our full attention in future on expanding the distribution network and increasing sales."

Complete

Following the AEC acquisition, Norman will have a complete range of products in the PKI area. This also provides very good synergies with the company's existing products for Virtual Private Network (VPN), encryption and physical access control to workstations. Combined with products for risk analysis, virus protection, and data recovery and deletion, Norman is now positioning itself as one of the most complete suppliers in the computer security market.

Further information from:

Bjørn Fosli, president, Norman ASA, tel: +47-67-10-97-17 (office), +47-90-51-84-68 (mobile) Svein Goli, chairman, Norman ASA, tel: +47-90-75-67-57 (mobile)

About AEC Ltd

AEC Ltd. holds a leading position in the Czech and Slovak markets for computer security, with a market share of 50 per cent. Established in 1991, it had revenues of NOK 15 million last year. As a result of growing demand, the workforce has expanded by 30 per cent since January alone. Both the Czech Republic and Slovakia are experiencing strong economic growth. This in turn is generating more investment in the information technology infrastructure and creating an increased demand for computer security solutions. AEC has its head office in Brno, a sales office in Prague, and a subsidiary in Slovakia. Its 45 highly competent staff includes 30 people involved in product development and technical support, while the remainder form a well-functioning market and sales team.