Finnish data security company F-Secure is seeking to grow in the European cyber security market with the help of acquisitions, its chief executive said.
F-Secure, founded in the 1980’s by Nokia’s current chairman Risto Siilasmaa, faces tough competition from larger companies such as Britain’s Sophos and Russia’s Kaspersky, as well as U.S. market leaders Symantec and Intel Security Group.
Speaking at the company’s headquarters in Helsinki, Chief Executive Christian Fredrikson said he saw plenty of demand.
“We see huge demand for corporate cyber security in markets like Germany and the UK… We have public sector clients in Europe and we look for growth in services for defense and police forces,” he said.
Gartner sees the corporate and public sector security market growing by 8 percent annually in the coming years from about $18 billion currently.
“We are actively looking for (M&A) opportunities to support our growth… We have a lot of talks, but we are looking for deals with the right valuation.”
Last year, F-Secure acquired n-Sense, a Danish cyber security provider for 15 million euros.
