Distributor buy-out is Braziliant idea for Panda

After buying up its UK rights last year, security vendor continues plan to build global company to take public

Rio's grand: Panda claims Brazil offers plentiful opportunity for growth

Vendor Panda Security has taken another step towards its goal of building a global brand and going public by buying up the rights to its Brazilian operation.

Distributor Panda Brazil has been trading for five years and becomes the 13th subsidiary to come under the ownership of the vendor. Offices and operations in Austria, Germany, Belgium, China, Spain, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden and the US are already wholly owned by Panda.

Last summer, the vendor bought the Panda UK rights from distributor Formjet Innovations. The software manufacturer subsequently claimed the move was part of a wider plan to create a worldwide business suitable for public flotation.

Panda claims the Brazilian outpost is one of its most lucrative in Latin America, adding that the country offers "outstanding opportunity for growth". The vendor has offices in 44 countries across the globe, and sells kit in a further 151 through the internet and local resellers.

Panda Security chief executive Juan Santana claimed his firm's private equity backers had helped instigate the slew of acquisition activity.

“The strategy of buying up our franchisees in key markets is one of the initiatives put in place in 2007, when the InvestIndustrial, GalaCapital, HarbourVest and Atlantic Bridge investment groups entered our share capital," he explained. "This strategy enables us to consolidate and strongly position the company internationally”.