Fair cop: NEC acquires Northgate Public Services for security presence

Vendor snares Hemel Hempstead-based software and services firm for its close ties to the British police

NEC Corporation has acquired Northgate Public Services (NPS) for £475m as it looks to bolster its international safety business.

The vendor saw NPS, which develops software and services for the public sector and works closely with the British police and government organisations, as the ideal fit.

NPS, which is owned by private equity firm Cinven, employs approximately 1,400 software engineers throughout the UK and India. It deploys its business platform across a client base that includes local police forces, tax collection offices, social security offices and housing authorities.

NEC's international safety business uses biometrics technologies, including face recognition and fingerprint recognition technologies.

Georgina O'Toole, chief analyst at TechMarketView, said NEC has achieved near maximum penetration in Japan and is looking to expand its business internationally.

"With NPS' insight of and access to the UK and Australian public sector markets, NEC has spotted a compelling growth opportunity," said O'Toole.

"Meanwhile, NPS - which will maintain its name, as well as its leadership team, under its new owner - has the opportunity to integrate some of NEC's technologies in biometric scanning and facial recognition into its own software platforms.

"It will also gain access to expertise in citizen access and smart cities. And will be able to accelerate its international growth plans - in North America and Asia-Pacific, in particular - by accessing NEC's global network."

Takashi Niino, president and CEO of NEC Corporation, said: "We are proud to have Northgate Public Services, one of the UK's leading technology companies, joining the NEC Group."

"With this acquisition, NEC aims to support and strengthen NPS' technologies for police operations, establish new safety solutions based on a common business platform, and to further develop international markets largely focused on countries within the Commonwealth."

Stephen Callaghan, CEO of Northgate Public Services, said his colleagues and leadership team have worked incredibly hard over the past two years to get the company into shape operationally and financially.

"Combined with NEC's business, we will now be able to offer a wider suite of services and software to our existing client base, while also expanding in new geographies and technology sectors," said Callaghan.

"I'd like to stress that we see this as simply the beginning of our next phase of development. The increased financial strength, technical capability and market access support NEC provides will allow us to accelerate our growth plans considerably and I am enthusiastic about our future prospects."

This acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the month.