AUCloud, which last week announced a bevy of managed services solutions to deepen its capabilities in cyber security, has announced three major acquisitions with a total value of almost $30 million.
The first and largest of the three is Sydney-based consultancy PCG Cyber. With a specialty in government security advice and operations, it aligns closely with AUCloud’s sovereign cloud capabilities. For it, AUCloud is spending $15 million.
The second, Venn IT, is based in Queensland and South Australia and is an MSP that largely supports mining, financial services, education and distribution. It cost AUCloud $6 million. Finally, Arado is another Queensland-based managed services provider, with a focus on agriculture, industry, health and resources. AUCloud is paying $7 million for it.
“The announcement of the acquisitions marked a significant step in our commitment to enhancing our comprehensive suite of cyber security and secure cloud solutions for our customers and positioned the company on a transformational growth trajectory,” AUCloud CEO and managing director Peter Maloney said in a statement.
“This expansion executes on the strategic review announced in June 2023, to build, partner & acquire new capabilities in cyber security and partner in the multi-Cloud and Public Cloud markets to leverage the capital invested in the existing four Sovereign Cloud platforms.”
This investment is particularly significant for AUCloud, given that it is forecasting an FY25F revenue of $36.6 million.
In the statement, the company also flagged that it plans further M&A activity to “scale up quickly.”
Battle for cyber dominance heats up
AUCloud’s urgency underscores many of the other movements occurring across the Australian channel currently. In recent weeks, MSP Spirit announced a pivot to cybersecurity with a major acquisition despite declining profitability. Another major MSP, Atturra, invested in building a managed security practice in partnership with MyCISO.
Meanwhile, US-based Evergreen Services Group recently announced the purchase of its first Australian-headquartered MSP in Canberra-based Centrered. Centrered’s suite of services also includes a strong focus on managed security solutions.