Softline buys 51% of cybersecurity integrator K2-9b Group, might acquire remainder

MOSCOW. Jan 16 (Interfax) - Softline Group has acquired a 51% stake in K2-9b Group, a Russian systems integration and cybersecurity technology company.

The price of the deal is about 400 million rubles, part of which will be paid with shares in PJSC Softline, Softline said in a press release. K2-9b Group will become part of the group's IT vendor Inferit.

Softline has also acquired the option to gradually consolidate 100% of shares in K2-9b Group in 2027-2028. K2-9b Group founder and CEO Mikhail Yanenko and senior management currently retain 49% of the company.

K2-9b Group, founded in 2019, is engaged in comprehensive systems integration and rollout of information security solutions. The company's revenue might grow to more than 1 billion rubles in 2024 from over 600 million rubles in 2023, and could increase by another 40% in 2025, the press release said.

"A merger with Softline opens new opportunities for consolidating expertise in the area of protecting confidential data with the existing information security competencies in the group's portfolio, and also has great potential for developing information security projects based on Inferit's infrastructure solutions. I'm confident that a merger with Softline Group will lead to the multifold growth of our business," Yanenko was quoted as saying in the press release.

"Information security remains one of the most dynamically developing segments of the Russian IT sector. The size of the Russian market has already reached 266 billion rubles, and the segment of information security services grew to 78 billion rubles in 2024, and experts forecast their further growth. The merger with K2-9b Group significantly expands the expertise and competencies of the information security business of Inferit and Softline Group," Inferit managing director Ivan Kireyev said.