M+E Connections

Industrial technology firm Crane NXT has announced it will acquire OpSec Security for $270 million in cash. OpSec is a global leader in brand protection and authentication solutions, serving the world’s most recognised brands, as well as government agencies and financial institutions.

“OpSec is an excellent fit with our portfolio of technologies that secure, detect, and authenticate our customers’ most valuable assets,” said Crane NXT president and CEO Aaron W. Saak. “The authentication and brand protection markets are large and growing, bolstered by secular mega trends, including the continuous rise of counterfeiting and proliferation of online marketplaces, as well as digital media and piracy.

“OpSec is a global leader in these markets with its proprietary technology, broad suite of solutions, and integrated offering. This acquisition will enable us to leverage our complementary expertise in anti-counterfeiting technology and drive growth and sustainable value creation as a trusted partner to clients.”

Dr. Selva Selvaratnam, OpSec’s CEO, added: “We are thrilled to be joining forces with Crane NXT to continue to accelerate our growth. Together, we will be even better positioned to help our customers realise the value and ensure the integrity of their physical and digital brand portfolios, from products and content to trademarks and trust. We are extremely grateful to Investcorp for its tremendous support as we’ve scaled our business, and we look forward to building on this momentum in the years ahead.”

The acquisition will expand Crane NXT’s capabilities across its entire product and brand authentication value chain. OpSec provides customers with a complete end-to-end offering that combines proprietary features, technologies, and expertise to meet their unique brand needs. It has more than four decades of experience in optical security and is recognised as one of the pioneers of micro lithography. It also has scalable software platforms that enable the traceability of products, manage the licensing of brand properties, and detect and enforce against online brand abuse and content infringement.

With a global footprint across North America, Europe, and Asia, OpSec is uniquely positioned with the scale to support leading brands worldwide.

This agreement does not include Zacco, currently part of OpSec, which will remain with current parent company Investcorp. The parties intend for OpSec and Zacco to continue a business relationship post-acquisition. Excluding Zacco, OpSec expects to generate approximately $130 million in revenue for fiscal 2024.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024.