PwC acquires IAM specialist Everett

July 28, 2016 Consultancy.nl

In mid-July, PwC took over cybersecurity and privacy specialist Everett. As a result of the deal, more than fifty advisors in four countries switched to the Advisory practice of the accountancy and consultancy firm. The deal was supervised by IMPROVED Corporate Finance, De Metz Advocaten and, almost self-evidently, PwC itself.

Cyber ​​security has become increasingly top of the agenda for corporate directors in recent years. As a result of this trend, many organizations, including larger consultancies such as the Big Four, are expanding their cybersecurity capabilities. Mergers, acquisitions and entering into alliances play an important role in this. KPMG recently acquired Qubera, P3 Consulting and Trusteq Oy, Deloitte signed a partnership with IT company Equinix, and last year EY bought Mycroft, an American provider of cloud-based identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) and identity & access management (IAM) services.

Big Four industry participant PwC is also active within the playing field – at the beginning of this year Praxism was handed over to PwC UK and last year the British organization also acquired the cyber security company Tanium. The most recent acquisition in the long list is that of Everett, a cybersecurity and privacy specialist with offices in the Netherlands (Nieuwegein), Germany (Düsseldorf), the United Kingdom (Manchester) and Italy (Rome). For PwC, the deal means a “strengthening of its fast-growing cyber security services,” according to a spokesperson for the office.

For Everett, the acquisition offers “new opportunities”, says Everett CEO Gerald Horst. He states: “The combination of the extensive knowledge and experience that both Everett and PwC present, creates new opportunities to serve our customers even better. For our people, it offers new career opportunities and more extensive opportunities to further develop their talents. ”

The deal between the two advisory organizations was supervised by merger and acquisition experts from three companies. On behalf of M & A specialist IMPROVED Corporate Finance, the deal team consisted of Partner Arjan Brienen, Associate Partner Ton Tuijten and Associate Dorien de Vroome. Brienen on the role of IMPROVED: “The market in which Everett operates (Identity and Access Management (IAM), ed.), Attracts strong attention from strategic and financial investors worldwide. This is due to the rapidly growing demand for identification and security. ”

On the legal side Everett was assisted by Otto Nunnikhoven of De Metz Advocaten. The Big Four office delivered its own internal M & A deal team, which consisted of Cornelis Smaal and Karin Spook. The legal side of the transaction for PWC was provided by PwC members Diek Fabius and Eelkje Boonstra.