Who We Are
SRG Security Resource Group Inc. is a Canadian company dedicated to providing world-class Protective Security Guard and Patrol and Cyber Security services. Founded in the spring of 1996, SRG provides solutions and services for people and organizations across Canada.
SRG Security Resource Group Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of SSC Security Services Corp. (TSXV: SECU) (OTCQX: SECUF).
SSC Security Services Corp. Recognized as Top 50 TSX Venture Exchange Company
TORONTO, ON – February 21, 2023 – SSC Security Services Corp. (“SSC”) (TSXV: SECU) (OTCQX: SECUF) is pleased to announce that it has been named as one of the top performers on the TSX Venture Exchange.
The 2023 TSX Venture 50 celebrates the strongest performances on the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV” or “the Exchange”) over the last year. Comprised of 10 companies from each of five industry sectors, the ranking recognizes the strongest performance on the Exchange based on market capitalization growth, share price appreciation and trading volume. More details on the 2023 TSX Venture 50 and a video highlighting SSC can be found at https://money.tmx.com/en/venture50.
Cyber Security Bulletin: Brute Force Attacks Against O365 & Azure
Over the last few weeks SRG has been alerted to and has been monitoring a new cyber-attack vector. This is a known group with access to a large and scalable Kubernetes cluster that is performing high-speed and broad reaching Brute Force Attacks against Microsoft O365 and Azure services. It is highly recommended that all customers enable two-factor (2FA) in their Microsoft cloud services and additionally recommended that password length and complexity policies be reviewed and increased in strength as needed.
As always if we can be of any assistance or provide further guidance please reach out to the Cyber Team at cyberservices@securityresourcegroup.com.
Cyber Security Bulletin: Hackers Exploit Critical Chrome & Edge Vulnerability
Both Google and Microsoft are pushing emergency updates to patch a critical vulnerability in their browsers. Hackers are actively exploiting this vulnerability, which allows for remote code execution within the browser Javascript engine.
This vulnerability, called CVE-2022-1096, was reported to Google by an anonymous user or researcher. It appears to affect all Chromium-based browsers, including Opera and Brave.
Details on the vulnerability are slim, but we do know that the vulnerability allows for “type-confusion” attacks in the browser V8 Javascript engine. Basically, hackers can confuse the browser, forcing it to read and write data on your machine without permission.
At this time there is limited official information from the browser vendor. We suggest that you update Chrome and Edge immediately to avoid the problem.
Google will reveal more information on this vulnerability once a majority of its users install the emergency update. The company will also wait for other Chromium browsers to patch the problem—Microsoft Edge is rolling out its fix, but competitors like Brave and Opera are still working on it.
Please reach out to your SRG Contact for more information on how to protect yourself and your business. Alternatively, you can contact SRG at admin@securityresourcegroup.com.
SSC Security Services Corp. to Acquire Logixx Security Inc. in All-Cash Deal to Become the Largest Publicly-Traded Security Company In Canada
REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN – March 30, 2022 – SSC Security Services Corp. (“SSC”) (TSXV: SECU) (OTCQX: SECUF), is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive share purchase agreement (“Share Purchase Agreement”) to acquire Logixx Security Inc. (“Logixx”), a Toronto-based provider of premium security protection for leading enterprise and commercial clients across Canada, from its corporate owner, Avante Logixx Inc. (“Avante”) (TSXV: XX) (OTC: ALXXF).
The arrangement agreement (the “Arrangement”) between SSC and Avante previously announced on February 9, 2022 has been terminated by mutual agreement (the “Termination Agreement”) of both parties in order to enter into the Share Purchase Agreement. In lieu of the expense reimbursement fee payable to SSC on termination of the Arrangement, the parties have agreed to apply an amount equal to $750,000 (the “Arrangement Expense Reimbursement”) to payment of the purchase price under the Share Purchase Agreement.
Pursuant to the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement, SSC has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Logixx (“Logixx Shares”) by way of a share purchase agreement (“Transaction”). Under the terms of the Transaction, SSC will pay Avante $23.95 million in cash for the Logixx Shares, less the Arrangment Expense Reimbursement, and subject to standard working capital, debt and other closing adjustments standard for transactions of this nature. On closing, SSC will take ownership of Logixx on a debt-free basis and with $7.5 million of net working capital. Completion of the Transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent, including, but not limited to, receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Avante and SSC have provided representations, warranties and indemnities customary for a transaction of this nature, as well as customary interim period covenants regarding the operation of the Logixx businesses in the ordinary course. The parties have also made customary non-competition and non-soliciation arrangements.
Copies of the Termination Agreement and the Share Purchase Agreement will be filed with the securities regulators and available on the SEDAR profile of Avante at www.sedar.com.
On closing of the Transaction, SSC will be the largest publicly-traded security company in Canada, be debt-free, and have approximately 2,100 employees from coast to coast. As a result of the transaction, SSC will approximately quadruple its pro forma annual revenue and Adjusted EBITDA*. The Transaction is expected to close within the next 60 days and will be funded by SSC with cash on hand and without any dilution to SSC shareholders.
SSC plans to maintain its quarterly dividend at the current level of $0.03 per SSC Share (which equates to $0.12 annualized). On a pro forma basis, SSC’s dividend payout ratio as a percentage of estimated annual Adjusted EBITDA* will improve from approximately 80% to under 35%.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMMENTS ON THE TRANSACTION
Doug Emsley, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer of SSC, commented: “We believe this is a better deal for SSC and its shareholders than the one we announced on February 9. It allows us to acquire the part of Avante’s business that is the most similar to our existing business, do it at a lower EV/EBITDA multiple than we would have had to pay for all of Avante’s business, do it with cash on hand and no dilution to shareholders, and end up with a debt-free well-funded national physical and cyber security company.”
HIGHLIGHTS & KEY BENEFITS OF THE TRANSACTION
ADVISOR
McKercher LLP acted as legal advisor to SSC.
ABOUT SSC
SSC Security Services Corp. (TSXV: SECU) (OTCQX: SECUF) is a leading provider of physical and cyber security services to corporate and public sector clients across Canada. For more information, please visit www.securityservicescorp.ca.
For further information, please contact:
Doug Emsley
President & CEO
SSC Security Services Corp.
(306) 347-1024
doug@securityservicescorp.ca
Brad Farquhar
Executive VP & Chief Financial Officer
SSC Security Services Corp.
(306) 347-7202
brad@securityservicescorp.ca
NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Forward Looking Information
This press release contains forward looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only SSC’s beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of SSC’s control. Such statements are based on the current expectations and views of future events of SSC’s management. In some cases, the forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “potential”, “estimate”, “believe” or the negative of these terms, or other similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting SSC, including risks regarding the security industry, economic factors and the equity markets generally, risks relating to the Transaction, including the ability of SSC and Logixx to implement business strategies and combined synergies, timing of the Transaction, the price of SSC Shares, the dividend payout ratio, as well regulatory approvals, and many other factors beyond the control of SSC. Additional risks are discussed under “Risk Factors” in SSC’s management’s discussion and analysis filed on SEDAR. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or information. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and SSC undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
*Non-IFRS Measures
SSC measures key performance metrics established by management as being key indicators of the company’s strength, using certain non-IFRS performance measures, including: EBITDA, EBITDA per share, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA per share.
SSC uses these non-IFRS measures for its own internal purposes. These non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS, and these measures may be calculated differently by other companies. The presentation of these non-IFRS measures is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. SSC provides these non-IFRS measures to enable investors and analysts to understand the underlying operating and financial performance of the company in the same way as it is frequently evaluated by SSC’s management. SSC’s management will periodically assess these non-IFRS measures and the components thereof to ensure continued use is beneficial to the evaluation of the underlying operating and financial performance of the company. For more detailed information, please refer to page 20 and 21 of the the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis dated February 16, 2022 available on the Company’s website at www.securityservicescorp.ca and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Cyber Security Bulletin: Increased Attack Activity
While the Russia-Ukraine tensions may seem far away, there is a very real threat of increased Cyber Attacks against European countries, as well as Canada and the US; any country that has retaliated against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is highly unlikely Putin will be able to harm Canada or the US with military force, therefore his likely best option is through Cyber attacks. It is suspected that Russia has already attacked Ukrainian businesses with Malware, some with Ransomware and some that attacks systems and wipes them clean of data without any Ransom request – simply to disrupt/cripple the operations of these companies.
Over the past several months, SRG has observed an increase in attack activity. Ransomware and Denial of Service attacks are leading the way. Our professionals are monitoring our clients’ systems and blocking (or alerting our clients) to suspicious activities. Additionally, we are monitoring both the Deep and Dark web, as well as non-valid traffic from thousands of Dark Web Tor Exit Nodes. With this, we are also actively updating Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) in our security monitoring platforms to advise on new and emerging threats associated with the Russia/Ukraine conflict.
At the moment it is difficult to discern where the increased Attack activity is originating from, however we need to focus on the risk of Russian led Cyber attacks against our country and businesses. We recommend companies stay very vigilant and ensure they have taken reasonable steps to mitigate the risk of an attack being successful on their organizations.
The following are recommended Cyber Security processes:
Please reach out to your SRG Contact for more information on how to protect yourself and your business. Alternatively, you can contact SRG at admin@securityresourcegroup.com.