Utimaco Announces Intent to Acquire Atalla from Micro Focus

Acquisition to strengthen investment in the Hardware Security Modules business and add a market-leading Payment HSM business to the Utimaco Information Security Portfolio

• The acquisition will combine two well-known pioneers in the Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) business with complementary strengths and market positions.
• Utimaco, as one of the worldwide market leaders in the general purpose HSM business, is fully committed to continuing and investing further in the Atalla product portfolio. Customers of Atalla will benefit from Utimaco´s commitment to certified security, product quality and innovation.

Campbell, USA – May 18, 2018 – Utimaco, the global #2 in Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), today announced the intent to acquire the Atalla HSM and ESKM business lines from Micro Focus, which were previously owned by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) prior to the September 2017 merger of its Software business with Micro Focus.

Germany-based Utimaco, active in the HSM market for over 35 years, is a global manufacturer of general purpose HSMs. Utimaco has built its market leading position focusing on indirect sales through OEM or channel business partners and selling its SecurityServer product line into industries as diverse as automotive, government, media & entertainment, smart metering, semiconductors, telecommunications and the banking and financial services sectors. Utimaco is traditionally strong in its German home market based on its longstanding German banking association certification (DK) and has recently achieved PCI accreditation for the SecurityServer product line.

With the acquisition of Atalla, one of the most established and iconic brand names for electronic payment HSMs, Utimaco will be accelerating its growth trajectory into the Payments market with access to top brand banking and financial services players, especially in the USA, UK and Asia. Utimaco is committed to maintaining the Atalla team and investing further at its California location.

The transaction is pending completion due to required customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close fall 2018.

Malte Pollmann, Utimaco’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The acquisition of Atalla will mark a key milestone in the further implementation of our growth strategy. It is complementary in terms of product portfolio and regional footprint as well as the vertical markets we are addressing. Both Utimaco and Atalla are pioneers in hardware security modules, the combination of which leads to an unrivaled wealth of experience and know-how. We have tremendous respect for Atalla´s technological achievements in the payments arena and want to remain a focused specialist in this area, and directly approachable for partners and customers. This acquisition will be beneficial to customers and employees, serving continuity as well as product innovation.”

“As two of the leading pioneers in the hardware security modules business, Atalla and Utimaco are a perfect match, operating in complementary markets with aligned strengths that will help drive better alignment for customers and position Atalla for future growth,” said John Delk, General Manager of Security for Micro Focus. “We are fully committed to our Security software portfolio and our mission to secure users, applications and data. With innovations such as the recent release of Voltage SecureData Sentry, we are executing on that mission and demonstrating our ability to meet demanding data security challenges at scale, while simplifying and improving time to value.”