Romanian security technology company Bitdefender has acquired its French peer Profil Technology as part of its expansion strategy on the corporate segment. 

The terms of the deal were not announced, but the takeover is the largest step of this kind taken by the Romanian company. It follows investments in other European countries last year. 

"Bitdefender's consolidated positioning in France will help the company grow its share of the French enterprise and consumer markets, with a team of 50 sales and marketing professionals and a French-speaking support organisation," Bitdefender said in a January 17 press release.

“France is a key focus market for the company’s future,” said Bitdefender’s CEO and founder Florin Talpeș.

In 2016, the company established a local presence in Italy and Sweden, while its partner network membership has more than doubled in the past two years. According to to Talpes, Bitdefender is currently interested in investing in Romanian startups.

Bitdefender plans to attract a minority investor and also has listing plans in 2017, possibly on the London Stock Exchange, Talpeș told the Sunday Telegraph on October 29.

Bitdefender’s rivals include Norton, owned by American company Symantec, McAfee which is part of Intel, Kaspersky of Russia, Trend Micro and Sophos.

Bitdefender’s turnover rose by 54% y/y to €85.7mn in 2015. Out of this, 97.7% were revenues from exports.

The firm was founded by Romanian entrepreneurs Talpeș and his wife Mariuca. Formally, it is controlled through Dutch-registered Bitdefender Holding BV.