T1 integrates security – Newspaper Kommersant No. 11 (7456) of 01/23/2023
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IT integrator T1 Group, according to Kommersant, is preparing to acquire a stake in one of the Russian companies operating in the cybersecurity segment. Development in this direction has been discussed since 2021, when the holding was part of the VTB group. Now investments in such large developers as Positive Technologies and InfoWatch are considered. The possible transaction, experts believe, will allow the T1 group to increase revenue from the sale of complex services.
Sources of Kommersant in the IT market said that the T1 group (which unites enterprises in the field of integration, consulting, cloud technologies, software development and others) is considering investing in a major Russian provider of cybersecurity solutions. The deal is needed by T1 to increase revenue from the sale of its solutions, “if you offer a supplier a full stack of technologies from infrastructure to software, then you need to include a solution in cybersecurity optimized for a specific customer,” the source explains.
The interlocutor of Kommersant, who is familiar with the plans of the T1 group, claims that the company planned this step at the end of 2021. According to him, then the holding showed interest in the Security Code, Positive Technologies and RuSIEM companies (developing a solution for monitoring and analyzing network activity). Now, according to another source, negotiations are underway with Positive Technologies and Natalia Kasperskaya’s InfoWatch.
In the T1 group itself, Kommersant was told that they were “focusing on dynamic development, including through the acquisition of assets,” but assured that they were not negotiating deals in the segment. Positive Technologies and InfoWatch declined to comment, RuSIEM did not respond to a request.
Before the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the T1 group belonged to VTB, acting as an internal integrator and developer. But after VTB fell under Western sanctions in March, the bank announced the sale of the asset without disclosing the buyer. Now 69.5% of LLC T1 (the head structure) belongs to Yulia Mankos through Sirocco Technology, 30.5% belongs to the closed mutual fund Os. VTB and top managers of T1 refuse to clarify who is behind the ZPIF. At the end of 2021 (data for 2022 are not available), the group’s revenue increased by 48.2%, to 87.7 billion rubles.
In 2022, against the backdrop of an increase in the number of cyber attacks, new participants began to actively enter the information security market. Thus, in August MTS announced the creation of Serenity Cyber Security, the integrator Softline in October announced the purchase of the Indian Value Point Systems. Rosatom decided to buy the Security Code (see Kommersant dated December 16, 2022).
The purchase by the T1 group of a stake in Positive Technologies is unlikely, since the company’s shares are listed on the Moscow Exchange, and a more logical scenario for it to continue developing, attracting investments from the market, says Yaroslav Galaiko, director of strategic and investment development at RTK-Solar. The deal for InfoWatch, in his opinion, looks more realistic: “InfoWatch has a wide portfolio of solutions, on the basis of which T1 can begin to form assets in the field of cybersecurity.”
Another interlocutor of Kommersant in the IT market agrees that the deal with InfoWatch “may be a priority.” In his opinion, the company is worth 4-7 billion rubles. In 2020, VTB received a pledge of 86.25% in Infowatch Asset Management LLC, a share owned by Natalia Kasperskaya. According to SPARK-Interfax, the encumbrance was in effect until September 8, 2026, but on November 29, 2022, the share was re-mortgaged to SME Bank.
If T1 partners with a major cybersecurity vendor, the company will save the budget for its solutions, says Moscow Digital School expert Vladislav Chukanov. “For T1, Positive Technologies or InfoWatch are potential or existing service providers, so the budget that the integrator will spend on cybersecurity products in the event of a deal will go not to a third-party company, but to an affiliated one, which will ensure a stable cash flow,” he says.
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