Matasano Security Acquired by NCC Group for $13 Million

The NCC Group today said it would pay up to £8.4 million (approximately $13 Million) in cash, to acquire Matasano Security, an independent security testing and research and development firm.

Matasano, with offices in New York, Chicago, and Mountain View, California, works with vendors and enterprises to help discover and eliminate security vulnerabilities, using penetration testing, reverse engineering, and source code review.

San Francisco, California-based NCC Group offers Enterprise Risk Management solutions and other services including software escrow, IT assurance with verification and validation testing, security testing for SaaS applications, due dilligence for mergers & acquisitions and more.

Matasano has 29 employees, all of which are expected to keep their jobs after the acquisition, and the company will remain an independent arm of NCC after the acquisition is complete, going by the name “Matasano, an NCC Group company”.

Matasano’s clients include numerous blue chip organizations and 95% of its revenue is derived from the provision of services to the software, information technology, Internet, banking and insurance sectors, according to a statement.

“Matasano is a highly respected industry player and this acquisition is a key strategic development for us. It substantially increases our presence and profile in the US, particularly within the important east coast market, considerably widening our capabilities and industry IP and bringing a number of leading blue chip technology customers,” commented Rob Cotton, NCC Group’s Chief Executive.

NCC said that they will pay £4.2m initially, and then two additional payments totaling up to £4.2m in total over next 24 months, subject to performance related targets.

Matasano was founded in 2005, and reported revenue of $5.0M for the year ended June, 30 2012, with much of the company’s future revenues coming from recurring contracts.