Netwrix Corp. has made its first acquisition under Chief Executive Steve Dickson, who took over the top post this past March at the Irvine-based security-focused business software maker.
The company announced on Dec. 4 that it acquired Concept Searching, a U.K.-based software maker that helps companies reduce health costs, manage documents and comply with the European Union’s data protection rules. The companies said they began working together last year in a relationship that turned out well.
The combination has “been proven through a very successful partnership which allows our customers to improve their ability to understand and protect their valuable data,” said Dickson, a longtime former executive at Quest Software and Dell Inc.
Financial terms of the transaction were undisclosed. Privately held Concept Searching has been profitable every year since its 2002 founding, according to its website. It specializes in tax management, auto-classification and “semantic metadata generation,” or software that helps convey context in data.
Customers include three of the top five largest global tax and audit firms, as well as BP PLC, OppenheimerFunds Distributor Inc. and the U.S. Department of Defense.
“We get a leading data discovery and classification solution along with deep expertise,” Dickson told the Business Journal.
Netwrix is best known for helping organizations address top security issues and mitigate the risk of data breaches. The software ensures audit and security programs meet industry and regulatory standards, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Sarbanes-Oxley.
Netwrix said the acquisition will help customers cut compliance costs by more than half.
Under the agreement, Netwrix acquires 20 employees from the core team based in Southampton, U.K.
Concept Searching President Martin Garland will lead the new business segment and report to Dickson. Concept Searching Chief Technology Officer Michael Paye will lead development and innovation of the Concept Classifier platform.
Netwrix has seen demand jump among small and midsize businesses looking to mitigate security risks. Last year, it grew its customer count by more than a third, adding more than 1,500, including Lima Memorial Health System, World Travel Holdings and Tax Defense Network LLC, to its base of well-known brands, such as Irvine-based Habit Restaurants Inc., Belkin International Inc. and Sony Pictures.
The company is projected to generate nearly $40 million in revenue this year, which would grow the top line more than 30%. It employs about 70 in Irvine and 320 companywide, including its recent buy.
Broadcom Cuts Valley Jobs
San Jose-based Broadcom Inc., which maintains a sizeable presence in Irvine, has eliminated more jobs in Silicon Valley.
The chipmaker slashed 119 positions at its Santa Clara operation, the cuts expected through Jan. 8, according to a recent filing with the state Employment Development Department. The move follows its $18.9 billion November buy of enterprise software maker CA Technologies. It’s the second significant round of job cuts invoked by the tech giant since January, when it eliminated 1,100 positions “across all business and functional areas” and indicated more could be on the way following its $6 billion takeover of networking gear maker Brocade Communications Systems Inc., also based in San Jose.
It appears its Irvine operation wasn’t affected by the latest cuts.
The company was OC’s 47th-largest employer through October, with an estimated 1,630 local workers, according to Business Journal research.
The local operation has shed about a third of its positions—more than 750—since Broadcom Corp. was sold in 2016 for $37 billion to Avago Technologies and renamed.
Broadcom (Nasdaq: AVGO) shares are down about 10% this year, recently trading at about $229 each and a $94.8 billion market cap.
Clean Energy to Turkey
A subsidiary of Costa Mesa-based Clean Energy Technologies Inc. (OTC:CETY) signed a three-year distribution agreement with Corycos Group, a solar, oil and gas energy company headquartered in Turkey, to promote and sell what it calls its energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable products in the country.
Clean Energy’s flagship Clean Cycle technology is designed to capture waste heat from various sources and converting it to electricity.
The company posted sales of just under $1 million last year and had a recent market cap of about $8 million.
