Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer advises Astralas on its merger with Quadrant’s Bastion Security Group

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (HSF Kramer) has advised the founders of Melbourne cybersecurity services provider Astralas on its merger with Australian and New Zealand cybersecurity consulting company Bastion Security Group (Bastion).

Founded in 2021, Astralas is a specialist cybersecurity architecture and security engineering professional services provider. It has grown to a team of more than 60 cybersecurity and cloud professionals, who will integrate into Bastion's operations as part of the merger. The Astralas leadership team will also remain in place.

With Astralas joining the group, Bastion will now have more than 250 cybersecurity professionals operating from six offices across Australia and New Zealand, deepening its professional services capability in Australia.

Astralas clients will gain access to Bastion's service portfolio, which includes services including managed security operations, penetration testing, cloud and network security, and threat intelligence.

Matt Lowth and Ben Smith, Astralas Directors, said, "This merger allows us to offer our existing customers a significantly broader suite of services while introducing our specialised expertise to Bastion's clientele, ensuring a depth of offering that is unmatched in the local market."

The HSF Kramer team comprised partners Andrew Clyne (corporate) and Ryan Leslie (tax), senior associate Rhys Ryan, and solicitor James Ward.

Andrew said, "We are very pleased to have advised the owners of Astralas on this important transaction with Bastion, and to support them in their journey with Quadrant Private Equity. As the nature of cyber threats continue to evolve, it's more important than ever for local organisations to have trusted experts to support them in managing these risks."