RSA takes a long-term risk on safety

Updated RSA Security, which is best known for its key-token products, has announced a deal to acquire authorisation vendor, Securant Technologies.

The $136.5 million cash purchase by RSA comes at a time when Securant's main competitors, many of which specialise in providing public key infrastructure (PKI) products and services, are having a hard time in the market.

Firms like Baltimore Technologies and Entrust have suffered from weak sales of late, which has forced them to cuts forecasts and slash jobs. Entrust has reduced its headcount from 1,206 to 800 while Baltimore has gone from 1,250 to 950, with more cuts likely to come as part of a restructuring programme, details of which have yet to be announced.

The purchase by RSA of Securant is seen by it as a way of beefing up its products for the delivery of Web-based authorisation, a market segment predicted to grow strongly over the next four years by market analysts IDC.

RSA expects the transaction to add approximately $3 to $4 million to its revenue in the third quarter, $5 to $7 million in the fourth quarter, and between $35 to $40 million in 2002. Securant's customers include Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Lloyds TSB and Compaq. ®

Update

In our original version of the story we wrote that Securant was a Public Key Infrastructure vendor. In fact, Securant are in the Web based single sign on, or, alternatively, privilege management infrastructure (PMI) market. We hope this clears up any confusion.

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Frequently Asked Questions on RSA's acquisition of Securant Technologies

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