By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA (NYSE: EMBJ; B3: EMBJ3) and asset manager SPX Capital agreed to combine their cybersecurity businesses into a new company with R$700 million in annual revenue, 900 employees and 600 clients.
The transaction will merge Embraer-owned Tempest Security Intelligence with SPX’s Vision Cybersecurity, according to Broadcast. The deal will be structured as a share swap and will involve no cash payment.
SPX will become the largest shareholder and control the new company, while Embraer will retain a significant stake. The business has yet to be named.
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory clearances, including approval by Brazil’s antitrust watchdog, known as Cade.
Management and Expansion
Vision Cybersecurity Chief Executive Officer André Fleury will lead the combined company. João Lins, currently CEO of Tempest, will become vice president for technology and innovation.
“We want to consolidate the company in the Brazilian market and then expand into Latin America and North America,” Fleury said.
The international expansion is expected to occur primarily through organic growth, although acquisitions have not been ruled out.
“For Embraer, the defense of cyberspace is also strategic,” Lins said.
Cybersecurity Operations
Tempest and Vision provide vulnerability assessments for software, digital platforms, applications and chatbots, as well as projects serving industries including retail and automotive manufacturing.
Both companies also operate Security Operations Centers, or SOCs, which bring together employees, processes and technology to monitor corporate systems, detect threats, analyze suspicious activity and respond to cybersecurity incidents.
Another business line involves monitoring external attack trends. The combined company plans to expand its use of preemptive response services designed to identify and attempt to neutralize digital threats before they materialize.
The Tempest and Vision brands will initially be preserved. Their operations will remain independent at least until the transaction closes.
The companies will also maintain Vision’s regional base in Vitória, Tempest’s headquarters in Recife and their operations in São Paulo.
Tempest and Vision
Tempest was founded in 2000 at the Recife Center for Advanced Studies, known as CESAR, and was acquired by Embraer in 2020. Its portfolio is concentrated among large corporations, including clients with more than R$1 billion in annual revenue.
Embraer first invested in Tempest in 2015 through an innovation fund that also included the Brazilian Development Bank, or BNDES. The planemaker later helped the cybersecurity company gain access to international clients, a market expected to become a major source of growth after the merger.
Vision primarily serves midsize companies. SPX acquired the business in January from a unit of Espírito Santo-based ISH Tecnologia focused on private-sector corporate clients.
The investment of as much as R$400 million committed by SPX when it acquired Vision will be used to integrate the two businesses and finance other initial investments in the combined company.
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