Published on the 07/10/2015 | Written by Newsdesk
US telecommunications service provider D&S Communications acquires assets of failed Mako Networks…
The failure of Mako Networks, chronicled by the NBR, has is coming to a somewhat positive conclusion with the announcement that an American company is to take over the assets and intellectual property of the network security company.
D&S Communications has acquired the rights to all intellectual property relating to Mako’s branded network appliances and cloud-based Central Management System, including patents and patent applications, its trademarks and its beneficial interest in any contracts signed with customers worldwide. The transaction is reputed to have been concluded for $3-million.
The up side is that D&S said it will continue to base research and development and compliance in New Zealand, retaining several of Mako’s senior managers, including company founders Chris Massam and Simon Gamble, and will hire core members of the R&D team. It will look to hire further R&D staff in New Zealand to continue product development and enhancement.
D&S Communications has acted as implementation and logistics partner for Mako in the United States since 2014, handling the installation of over 4,000 Mako network devices for Chevron. In 2015 D&S became Mako’s primary North American distribution partner, assisting it with marketing, sales and implementation of Mako’s industry-leading PCI DSS compliance solutions.
D&S CEO Jason Kubasak said the decision to acquire was the result of a good understanding of Mako’s technology and global potential. “We’ve come to respect the technology and the deep knowledge the team has about keeping networks secure and have high regard for their approach to network security and compliance. Given our history with Mako, we’re a natural fit as a purchaser.”
He says that D&S had committed to Mako when it became a distribution partner and had protected its investment from the outset.
“We were made aware of the company’s financial position when we undertook due diligence and developed a business continuity plan in the event of an insolvency. When that plan was triggered we considered our options and decided that, rather than merely exercising our right to continue to provide products and support in North America, we would invest further in the business and seek to acquire the assets in their entirety.”
Kubasak was effusive in his praise of the technological capabilities that D&S now owns. “The team has developed some outstanding technologies which have proven their worth in the course of rigorous assessments by large enterprises, including Chevron. We believe there’s an opportunity to build on this foundation and build a network security company that can succeed in global markets.”
D&S expects to restructure the assets and acquired companies over the next few weeks, to better enable it to continue to deliver products and provide support to distribution partners and enterprise customers. When the restructuring is completed the company will operate wholly owned trading subsidiaries in each of its four territories: Mako Networks New Zealand, Mako Networks Australia, Mako Networks UK and Mako Networks USA.
