Grupo Jaime Câmara, a Brazilian media company, has made a strategic investment in Swiss online security business WISeKey. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but GJC has taken a 5% equity stake in WISeKey and agreed to create a joint venture, WISeKey Liber, which will expand the Swiss group’s services to Latin American and Iberian markets.
WISeKey, founded in 1999, raised a $20m from undisclosed private and institutional investors in a pre-IPO round in 2010, which valued the company at $200m. It has previously announced plans to list as soon as market conditions are conducive, and GJC’s investment includes an option to increase its stake to 10% before an IPO.
The joint venture will use a local datacentre in Latin America and continue with WISeKey’s stated strategic ambition to expand into emerging markets.
Carlos Moreira, WISeKey’s CEO, said in a press release: “The economic outlook for Latin America is very bright and this joint venture enables WISeKey to respond faster to marketplace dynamics. Our company will be in a better position to strategically deploy our technology in the region and to accelerate our growth.”