Today Vodafone is pleased to announce it has signed a conditional agreement to acquire a 60% majority share in cyber security specialist company DEFEND Limited.

The transaction will see DEFEND, with their current staff and structure, build on a proven and successful partnership with Vodafone New Zealand Limited, while retaining and leveraging the collective expertise, energy and ethos that DEFEND has fostered over the last 5 years.

Lindsay Zwart, Vodafone New Zealand’s Enterprise Director, is excited about the opportunity to invest in local tech talent.

“DEFEND is a hugely impressive player in the cyber security market, and by coupling their innovation and talent with the resources of Vodafone New Zealand, we will offer New Zealand businesses a one stop shop for cyber, network, and operational security."

“The investment in DEFEND represents a continuation of Vodafone’s commitment to the needs of our business customers. Cyber-crime is a growing threat, and as New Zealand businesses continue to adopt new technologies, the partnership provides both DEFEND and Vodafone New Zealand customers, increased capability and capacity to drive cyber resilience.”

DEFEND was established in 2017 and provides outcome-oriented services and leading capability practices for its customers. Since 2017 the company has received multiple awards including ISANZ Cyber Security Start-up of the Year 2018, ISANZ 2019 Company of the Year and was Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards winner 2020 for Modern Work & Security and 2021 for Security.

Vodafone New Zealand recognises the growing market for user-centric cyber security solutions and after witnessing DEFEND’s amazing growth over the past few years, knew this was a company that shared Vodafone New Zealand’s commitment to creating a thriving, more remarkable Aotearoa.

Nigel Everett, CEO of DEFEND is excited to join forces with Vodafone. “The strategic investment Vodafone New Zealand is going to bring to DEFEND will supercharge our growth and enable a broader and deeper engagement with our customers to reduce supply chain risk and securely develop their own services and solutions.” Everett continues, “We are a customer centric organisation and the value we bring as part of this partnership will enable us to continue delivering world class cyber security consulting and security services on a larger scale. This partnership will provide New Zealand a broader range of integrated services and we’re really excited to continue our partnership with the outstanding team at Vodafone.”

The transaction is expected to complete by April.

For more information about how to connect your business and protect your organisation from cyberattacks, please contact www.vodafone.co.nz/business.

DEFEND can be found at: https://defend.co.nz