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MSSP M&A List: 150 Managed Security Services Provider Mergers and Acquisitions

This blog offers an ongoing list of managed security services provider (MSSP) mergers and acquisitions that we've tracked. At least five factors are driving the M&A activity, MSSP Alert believes.
  1. Talent: The cyber skills shortage is driving MSSPs to find talent through M&A.
  2. Threats: The growing, shifting threat landscape is inspiring M&A deals to close technology and expertise gaps.
  3. Speed to Market: Acquiring companies can often be a faster path into a new or evolving technology market or business region.
  4. Scale: Smaller MSSPs are merging to counter the scale of larger rivals.
  5. Growth: The traditional MSP market will experience 10% compound annual growth rates (CAGR) in the years ahead. The MSSP market, in stark contrast, is growing at an 18% CAGR.
Updates: This story was originally published May 7, 2019. It is updated regularly to reflect the latest MSSP-related M&A deals.

MSSP Mergers, Acquisitions, Buyouts: The List

Among the M&A deals we've tracked: 150. December: Security On-Demand, with the backing of venture capital company Nautic Partners, acquired Booz Allen Hamilton’s commercial Managed Threat Services (MTS) business. 149. December: Deloitte acquired Makros. 148. December: CloudWave acquired Sensato. Both IT service providers focus exclusively on the healthcare sector. 147. November: Cycurion merged with a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company). 145 & 146. November: Orange Cyberdefense acquired Scrt and Telsys. 144. November: Boxx Insurance acquired Templarbit. 143. October: SilverEdge Government Solutions acquired Counter Threat Solutions (CTS). 142. October: Kocho has acquired Mobliciti. 141. October: Focus Digital Technology acquired Iridium Global. 139 & 140. October 2022: Integris acquired Blue Jean Networks and Security7Networks. 138. October 2022: ASGN acquired Iron Vine Security. 137. October 2022: Deloitte Australia acquired Hacktive. 136. October 2022: iC Consult Group acquired Kapstone Technologies. 135. October 2022: Allurity acquired CSIS Security Group. 134. September 2022: Fujitsu acquired InPhySec of New Zealand. 133. September 2022: Allurity Acquired Aiuken Cybersecurity. 132. August 2022: Cerberus Cyber Sentinel acquired Cuatroi. 131. August 2022: Plurilock acquired Atrion Communications. 130. July 2022: MSP Adar acquired cybersecurity firm Rigid Bits. 129. July 2022: AgileBlue acquired Crowe LLP's managed detection and response (MDR) platform, which is used for public accounting, consulting and technology. 128. June 2022: Global Market Innovators (GMI) acquired HarborTech Mobility for secure networking expertise. 127. June 2022: Apollo Information Systems acquired CyberDefenses. 126. June 2022: MetaCompliance, a security awareness and compliance training provider, acquired Moch. 125. June 2022: Danet Communications, an Accel Solutions company, acquired Magen Ofek — a Top 250 MSSP. 124. May 2022: Clearwater Compliance acquired CynergisTek. 123. May 2022: Thales acquired  S21sec and Excellium from Sonae Investment Management. 122. May 2022: UNS acquired CyberPeak Solutions. 121. May 2022: ThinkStack acquired Emergifi, a cybersecurity and technology solutions provider for credit unions. Continue to next page to see MSSP M&A deals 120 to 101. Here are MSSP M&A deals listed 120 to 101. 120. May 2022: Magnet Forensics acquired the strategic IP assets of Comae Technologies, a cybersecurity startup that specializes in incident response and memory analysis. 119. April 2022: Government security consulting firm & CMMC expert Rimstorm acquired Elevative Networks, a provider of managed IT and security services. 118. April 2022: KPMG acquired Fortica for cloud security posture management (CSPM) consulting services. 117. April 2022: HelpSystems acquired cybersecurity awareness training firm Terranova. 116. April 2022: LeadingIT acquired Fortinet partner Dura-Tech Enterprises. 115. April 2022: CWSI acquired Blaud for mobile threat defense capabilities. 114. April 2022: SilverSky acquired Cybraics. 113. April 2022: SysGroup acquired Truststream Security Solutions. 108, 109, 110, 111 and 112. April 2022: Airiam acquired and merged five MSPs and MSSPs. 107. April 2022: Oliver Wyman, a Marsh McLennan business, acquired Booz Allen Hamilton‘s management consulting and cybersecurity business serving the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 106. April 2022: Converge Technology Solutions acquired Creative Breakthroughs Inc. (CBI). 105. March 2022: Guidepost Solutions acquired a stake in Truvantis. 104. March 2022: Cyber Security Works (CSW) acquired CYR3Con. 103. March 2022: Redcentric acquired 7 Elements. 102. March 2022: Mission Critical Partners acquired Secure Halo. 101. March 2022: Kroll acquired Resolver for risk intelligence technology. Continue to next page to see MSSP M&A deals 100 to 81. Here are MSSP M&A deals listed 100 to 81. 100. March 2022: Fresche Solutions acquired Trinity Guard. 99. March 2022: HelpSystems acquired Alert Logic, the MDR (managed detection and response) security provider. 98. March 2022: Empire Technologies Risk Management (ETRM) Group acquired L2 Services. 97. March 2022: Google Cloud acquired Mandiant. 96. March 2022: Motorola Solutions acquired Ava Security Ltd. 95. March 2022: Unlimited Technology, backed by private equity firm Lee Equity Partners, acquired Integrated Security Technologies — a government security integrator. 94. March 2022: Private equity firm Investcorp Technology Partners (ITP) acquired HWG, an Italian MSSP and security operations center (SOC) solutions company. 93. February 2022: Appalachia Technologies acquired Cyber Protection Group (CPG) for vCISO, Intrusion Detection, Penetration Testing & Incident Response security services. 92. February 2022: CyberCX acquired Cyber Research NZ Limited, a cybersecurity services specialist, & expanded its presence across the Australia-New Zealand region. 91. February 2022: Foresite Cybersecurity, a Top 250 MSSP, acquired security monitoring, management and assessment solutions provider Cyber Lantern. 90. January 2022: Nautic Partners launched Advanced Threat Response Holdings (ATR) and acquired Security On-Demand (SOD). 89. January 2022: Morgan Stanley acquired Fusion Connect. 88. January 2022: Netrix acquired BTB Security for an undisclosed sum. 87. January 2022: SilverSky acquired Cygilant, expanding the MSSP, MDR and security operations center business across the United States and Europe. 86. January 2022: Cerberus Sentinel acquired True Digital Security, a cybersecurity operations and compliance company with offices in New York, Florida, and Oklahoma. 85. December 2021: Fishtech Group and Herjavec Group merged their MSSP businesses to offer MDR, SIEM and identity protection services. 84. December 2021: Kroll acquired Security Compass Advisory for penetration testing, red team and cloud security consulting services. 83. December 2021: Cerberus Sentinel acquired Arkavia Networks SPA, a Chilean cybersecurity services provider. 82. December 2021: Celcom Axiata Berhad acquired Bridgenet Solutions Sdn Bhd, an IT solutions provider and MSSP. 81. October 2021: Cipherpoint acquired VIT Cyber Security for digital forensics and incident response expertise. Continue to next page to see MSSP M&A deals 80 to 61. Here are MSSP M&A deals listed 80 to 61. 80. October 2021: Cerberus Sentinel acquired Red74. 79. October 2021: Deloitte acquired Sliced Tech, a Fortinet and BlackBerry partner that offers cloud-centric MSP services. 78. September 2021: 11:11 Systems, backed by private equity firm Tiger Infrastructure Partners, acquired Green Cloud Defense, a Top 250 MSSP, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Fortinet partner that supports roughly 700 MSPs. 77. September 2021: BlueVoyant acquired Concanon for Splunk-oriented professional services. The deal aligns with BlueVoyant's security operations center (SOC) and MDR (managed detection and response) strategy. 76. September 2021: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Canada acquired Avaleris, an MSSP that offers Microsoft identity, security and cloud services. 75. September 2021: SD-WAN company Orro acquired MSSP and MDR company eSecure. 74. September 2021: Millennia Technologies and Fusion IT merged. The deal united a UCaaS solutions provider with an MSSP that has WatchGuard expertise. 73. September 2021: Achieve Partners acquired Metmox, a Top 250 MSSP, and announced a cybersecurity mentoring and career building strategy. 72. August 2021: Nexon Asia Pacific acquired Equate Technologies. The deal united an Australia-based MSP with a cybersecurity consulting company. 71. August 2021: Simpson Associates acquired Bleam Cyber Security, an MSSP & MDR security provider. 70. August 2021: SilverSky, an MSSP & MDR security provider, acquired ACSG for school cybersecurity services. 69. August 2021: HQ Equita acquired a majority stake in Indevis, an MSSP in Germany. 68. July 2021: Ernst & Young Australia acquired SecureWorx. 67. July 2021: Pixel acquired Cyphra for MSSP, application and identity security services. 66. July 2021: Cyber Secure Works and Zuggard merged to focus on managed CloudSecOps. 65. June 2021: Evergreen Services Group acquired VirtualArmour. 64. June 2021: Deloitte & Touche, which has a Top 250 MSSP practice, acquired Terbium Labs. 63. June 2021: Cerberus Sentinel acquired Ground Control IT. 62. April 2021: Accenture acquired Openminded. 61. April 2021: Performanta acquired Identity Experts. Continue to next page to see MSSP M&A deals 60 to 41. Here are MSSP M&A deals listed 60 to 41. 60. April 2021: Tesserent acquired Secure Logic's MSSP business. 59. March 2021: Wipro acquired Ampion, an Australian MSSP & IT service provider that offers application protection, managed cybersecurity & DevOps services. 58. March 2021: Logically acquired Cerdant, an MSSP that supports more than 450 customers. 57. March 2021: Kroll acquired Redscan, a Top 40 MDR service provider. 56. February 2021: Proofpoint acquired InteliSecure, a Top 250 MSSP that offers managed data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities. 55. February 2021: Private equity firm Apax Partners acquired Herjavec Group, the Top 250 MSSP founded and led by Shark Tank angel investor Robert Herjavec. 54. February 2021: Green Cloud Technologies acquired Cascade Defense, an MSSP & Fortinet security partner. 53. January 2021: Cipherpoint (CPT), which specializes in Microsoft SharePoint security, has acquired MSSP Brace168. 52. January 2021: Atos acquired Fidem, a Canadian cybersecurity consulting firm with expertise in cloud protection, digital identity, risk management & security operations. 51. January 2021: Accenture acquired Real Protect, an MSSP serving Brazil and the Latin America market. 50. January 2021: Protos Security, backed by private equity firm Southfield Capital, has acquired Mulligan Security, a physical security company in New York, New York. 49. December 2020: Cerberus Cyber Sentinel Corp., a Top 250 MSSP for 2020, acquired Alpine Security, a provider of risk management and compliance services. 48. December 2020: Sysnet Global Solutions, a company that specializes in cybersecurity and compliance solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), acquired the Managed Compliance Solutions (MCS) division of ControlScan, a Top 250 MSSP. 47. December 2020: Atos acquired Motiv ICT Security. 46. December 2020: A private investor group acquired SilverSky from BAE Systems. 45. December 2020: PDI acquired Cybera and ControlScan. 44. October 2020: BlueVoyant acquired Managed Sentinel, a Microsoft Azure Sentinel partner. 43. September 2020: Motorola Solutions acquired Delta Risk. 42. September 2020: Appalachia Technologies, a Top 250 MSSP, acquired NIST  compliance specialist Stronghold Cyber Security (SCS). 41. September 2020: Cerberus Cyber Sentinel acquired Clear Skies Security for cybersecurity assessment and penetration testing services. Continue to next page to see MSSP M&A deals 40 to 21. Here are MSSP M&A deals listed 40 to 21. 40. September 2020: Avertium acquired 1440 Security in a deal that united two Top 200 MSSPs. 39. September 2020: Secureworks acquired Delve for vulnerability management software. 38. August 2020: Konica Minolta and All Covered acquired Depth Security for penetration testing. 37. August 2020: Cerberus Sentinel acquired Technologyville. 36. July 2020: Infogressive and Ascend Technologies merge. Private equity firm M/C Partners backs the deal. 35. July 2020: CyberCX acquired Basis Networks. 34. July 2020: Herjavec Group acquired Securience for IAM (identity and access management) expertise. 33. July 2020: Eurofins Digital Testing acquired Commissum Associate for MSSP and penetration testing services. 32. June 2020: Atos acquired Paladion, an MSSP with managed detection and response (MDR) and security operations center (SOC) capabilities 31. May 2020: SaalexIT acquires Arctic MSP, furthering a nationwide MSSP and MSP push. 30. March 2020: Accenture acquires Context Information Security, a cyber defense consultancy in London with roughly 250 employees. 29. March 2020: Dyonyx and Single Path merge to form Dyopath. 28. January 2020: Accenture acquires Symantec MSSP Cyber Security Services business from Broadcom. 27. January 2020: Private equity firm Trinity Hunt Partners acquires Dataprise, a Top 200 MSSP for 2019. 26. December 2019: CyberProof acquires Necsia Cybersecurity for managed detection and response (MDR) services. 25. November 2019: IPKeys buys Top 200 MSSP N-Dimension and gains managed security for the electric grid and more. 24. November 2019: CynergisTek acquires Backbone Technologies for healthcare and non-healthcare managed security services. 23. August 2019: Protos Security acquired Security Resources (SRI), uniting two MSSPs. Private equity firm Southfield Capital acquired Protos in February. 22. October 2019: BPM LLP, a California accounting and consulting firm and value-added reseller (VAR), acquires security, compliance and incident response services provider Adhere Inc.. 21. October 2019: Private equity firm acquires, merges 12 cybersecurity consulting firms. The result: BGH Capital launches CyberCX, a company that specializes in security assurance, incident response and digital forensics, managed security services and other cybersecurity services. Continue to next page to see MSSP M&A deals 20 to 1. Here are MSSP M&A deals listed 20 to 1. 20. September 2019: EY acquires ElevatedPrompt Solutions for MDR services. 19.  August 2019: Presidio, a midmarket IT solutions provider with a Top 100 MSSP business practice, is acquired by BC Partners for $2.1 billion. 18. July 2019: Accounting firm EisnerAmper acquires CSAM Marketing, a managed IT services provider (MSP) with cybersecurity risk mitigation & remediation services. 17. May 2019: Private equity firm Sunstone Partners acquires and merges three MSSPs. The merger — involving Sword & Shield, Terra Verde and TruShield — creates a new national cybersecurity service provider & consulting firm called Avertium. 16. May 2019: Orange move to acquire SecureLink, setting the stage for a massive European MSSP business combination. 15. April 11, 2019: Today's Nuspire buyout of GBprotect. 14. April 1, 2019: Finnish cybersecurity company Nixu acquired Ezenta, a Danish IT security consulting firm. The combined firm offers managed security services across Europe. 13. March 2019: Deloitte, a Top 100 MSSP, acquired Converging Data Australia, a cybersecurity firm that partners with AttackIQ, Carbon Black, Phantom & Splunk. 12. March 2019: NTT Security acquired WhiteHat Security. The deal unites a Top 100 MSSP & an application security provider for DevSecOps teams. Here are details from RSA Conference 2019. 11. February 2019: Orange acquired SecureData -- formerly the UK's largest independent MSSP. 10. December 2018: ConnectWise acquired Sienna Group, an MSSP that helps MSPs & technology solutions providers to drive down risk & boost recurring revenues. 9. October 2018: Top 100 MSSP and PCI compliance expert ControlScan acquired Dunbar Cybersecurity for managed detection and response (MDR), SIEM and SOC capabilities. 8. August 2018: ADT acquired Secure Designs Inc. (SDI), a well-known MSSP that manages SonicWall firewalls and other security equipment for small business customers. 7. June 2018: Continuum acquired CARVIR, a Top 100 MSSP that offers managed security, SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) services to MSPs in the SMB (small and midsize business) sector. 6. May 2018: Midmarket IT solutions provider Presidio acquired MSSP and cybersecurity consulting firm Red Sky Solutions for $40.8 million. 5. May 2018: Texas-based MSSP Critical Start acquired security orchestration technology firm Advanced Threat Analytics. 4. April 2018: KPMG, a Top 100 MSSP, acquired Canadian cyber risk services & testing solutions firm Egyde to bolsters its cybersecurity offerings. 3. April 2018: British MSSP & network security consultancy ITC Secure acquired SBD Advisors, a U.S. cybersecurity advisory firm. 2. January 2018: Identity & access solutions firm The SCE Group acquired Cayden Security, an MSSP that has risk mitigation expertise. 1. January 2018: British managed security services provider ITC Secure acquired the cybersecurity practice of business intelligence firm G3 & investment company Kinnevik AB.
Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.