Accenture set to acquire sovereign cybersecurity scaleup CyberCX is $1 billion deal

Melbourne scaleup CyberCX is potentially a unicorn following plans by professional services giant Accenture to acquire the six-year-old cybersecurity platform in a $1 billion-plus deal.

CyberCX was founded in 2019 by former Optus Business boss John Paitaridis and Alastair MacGibbon, the former Australian government cyber security tsar. It was created from the merger of a dozen smaller cybersec companies, with the common thread that they’ve been backed by private equity firm BGH Capital, which now owns CyberCX.

It’s one of the largest and most prominent cyber security firms in the Asia Pacific region employing around 1,400 people dealing with consulting, transformation and managed cybersecurity services. It has operations centres across Australia and New Zealand, plus offices in London and New York.

CyberCX’s client list includes Australian federal and state government agencies. Its AI-powered platforms deliver cybersecurity services including detection and response, and sovereign secure cloud, as well as the CyberCX Academy for training, plus proprietary tools for security testing and cyber intelligence.

The company also collaborates with Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike.

While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, it’s reportedly worth more than $1 billion, but will require regulatory approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board before NYSE-listed Accenture can take the reins.

It’s Accenture’s largest cyber security acquisition to date and will deliver a major boost to its cybersecurity services in Asia Pacific.

Accenture ANZ boss Peter Burns said client demand for cybersecurity services is growing quickly.

“The need for responsible governance is also rising as AI and Quantum technologies advance,” he said.

“CyberCX’s breadth of capabilities, trusted relationships with government and critical infrastructure organisations, and exceptional talent in the region, combined with Accenture’s local and global scale and innovation, will help us meet this ever-increasing client need.”

CyberCX CEO John Paitaridis said:“Joining Accenture’s global cyber security organisation enables our exceptional people to combine forces with global capabilities and provide world-leading cyber security services to an even greater number of clients across Asia Pacific as we accelerate our growth in the region.”