Anti-counterfeiting firm OpSec will become a publicly listed company via a deal with a special purpose acquisition company owned by Bahrain investor Investcorp.
The deal, which creates a combined company valued at £333m ($426m), is expected to close in the second half of this year and proceeds will fund product development and potential acquisitions. It follows a move by OpSec, which employs 150 people at its base in Washington, Sunderland, to buy Copenhagen-based intellectual property protection firm Zacco earlier this year.
Dr Selva Selvaratnam, CEO of OpSec Group, said the move would help OpSec further tackle the estimated $2.8trn counterfeiting and piracy market. He said: "The threat posed by the imitators, content pirates, and fraudsters is profound, and looks set to increase further given continued growth in e-commerce, online content, and social media.
