Southampton: Bond Dickinson acts on Clearswift acquisition

The Southampton office of national law firm Bond Dickinson LLP, alongside Kemp Little LLP, has advised Swiss technology group RUAG on its acquisition of Reading-based cyber security specialist Clearswift.

RUAG is actively involved in defence and security across Europe and the acquisition, which successfully completed last week, represents a significant investment to expand and develop the business's cyber security capabilities.

The Bond Dickinson team, led by partner Ewen Macgregor, provided legal advice on a range of issues including export control, property and environmental matters. Due to the international nature of the deal, Bond Dickinson also called in the expertise of its strategic partner German firm Redeker Sellner Dahs.

Macgregor said: "We’re delighted to have advised RUAG on this significant acquisition which will bolster the businesses offering in the UK and across Europe. Our strong corporate credentials and our strategic alliance in Germany has meant that we've been able to offer RUAG a consistent and all-in-one legal advice to ensure the best possible result and a smooth completion."

Dr Markus A Zoller, CEO of the RUAG Defence division, added: "The acquisition of Clearswift ideally complements our existing portfolio of products and services. By combining our expertise in network defence with Clearswift’s data loss prevention and gateway solutions we will further boost our efforts to make RUAG Defence one of the leading cyber security specialists."

Bond Dickinson is a leading law firm providing a comprehensive legal service to clients across a wide range of sectors including retail, energy, insurance, financial institutions, real estate, manufacturing, transport and private wealth. In the UK, it employs more than 1,200 staff, including 150 in Southampton.