A Swiss family office has acquired a major stake in a digital safe provider. And this is what it plans to do with the company.
The Swiss-based digital-security firm DSwiss is known to have hired bunkers built by the Swiss army to protect client data from preying eyes of rival firms, hackers and foreign security services.
Now, as it plans to step up its operations, DSwiss signed an agreement with family office Verium. The Zurich-based firm will take a significant minority stake in DSwiss and inject money into the company. DSwiss will use the money to finance an expansion abroad.
Southern Europe, Scandinavia as Target Markets
DSwiss mainly aims for markets in Southern Europe and Scandinavia, said DSwiss CEO Tobias Christen in an interview with finews.com. DSwiss is already active in Germany, Austria and in the Benelux countries.
Verium, which focuses on stakes in medium-sized Swiss firms, includes some major private-equity experts. Alexander Krebs, co-founder of Capvis, used to be a member of the board. Marc Erni, erstwhile investment banker at UBS and partner at Equistone, is a managing partner at Verium.
Major Boost From Digital Banking
Erni will join the board of DSwiss. The management team of Christen meanwhile will keep a major stake in the firm. Verium expects DSwiss’ business to gain traction as digital banking and software-as-a-service offers increase in Switzerland and abroad.
«We take an active role in every firm we invest in to develop the company both strategically and operatively,» said Erni. «Normally, we are in a constant exchange with the management and support it as best we can.» Verium is already DSwiss’ biggest shareholder and plans to own at least 45 percent over the medium term.
UBS, ZKB and Basler Are Clients
DSwiss, which was founded in 2008, has clients including UBS and Zuercher Kantonalbank, or Basler Insurance company. They all use digital safes developed by DSwiss.
