'Merger of equals' for rival VARs

GSS and Peapod merge to improve business side of consulting

Peapod's Chris Durnan (left) seals the deal with GSS's David Hobson, as the new company, GSS Holding, plans to build on Peapod's business consultancy skills

Security VARs Global Secure Systems (GSS) and Peapod have mirrored the impending union of their respective vendor allies Websense and SurfControl by completing their own merger.

Peapod’s owner, private equity firm CTIL, has taken a stake in the new entity formed to co-ordinate the merger, GSS Holding, although exact terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.

David Hobson, managing director of Worthing-based GSS, insisted it was a ‘merger of equals’, despite admitting the Peapod brand will be dropped before the start of next year.

Peapod’s chief executive and finance director, Chris Durnan and Martin Smulian, have both stayed on in director-level posts.

Hobson told CRN: “There are a raft of security players around the £5m to £6m turnover mark. We have taken two of them to make a top-tier player and can now cope with enterprise customers of any size.
“Peapod is very focused on the business side of consulting, such as the Data Protection Act and Payment Card Industry compliance, which is an area people often miss. This is a part of the business we plan to build.”

Frank Coggrave, vice president for Europe at Websense, said: “With Websense and SurfControl coming together on Wednesday I think this is brilliant. David has pulled off a master stroke as GSS and Peapod carry similar products, but are not massively competitive.”

GSS is Websense’s second-largest UK reseller behind Integralis, while Peapod is a top-three SurfControl partner. The combined firm also boasts skills with GTA, Blue Coat, Juniper and AppGate.
Crunch time for GSS over Peapod merger