Blancco Technology Group

Last updated
Blancco Technology Group
IndustryData security provider
Founded2016;9 years ago (2016)
Headquarters
Products
Owner
Website www.blancco.com

Blancco Technology Group is a global provider of device diagnostics and data wiping products.

Contents

Originally known as Regenersis plc, the firm was formed in 2016 following a number of mergers and acquisitions. After acquiring the Finish company, Blancco, in 2016, Regenersis disposed of its original repair division to focus on being a pure-play software business and renamed itself Blancco Technology Group plc.

The company has two fairly distinct business units: Blancco (data erasure) and SmartChk (mobile diagnostics). It employs 240 people worldwide across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia in the United States.

On December 5, 2023, Francisco Partners completed the acquisition of the company for approximately £175 million. [1]

History

Blancco Technology Group (LSE: BLTG) started as Regenersis plc, a provider of diagnostics, repair and data erasure services to the consumer electronics industry.

Regeneris

Regeneris itself began as Fonebank. [2] Regenersis filed for IPO in 2005 as a public company on the London Stock Exchange.[ citation needed ] In the same year, it acquired Intec Group (Intec Cellular Services and Intec Distribution).[ citation needed ]

In 2009, Regenersis bought Total Repair Solutions [2] and TRS' Scottish outfit, [3] in a deal that would see it become Scotland's second largest electronics employer. [2]

In 2011, the gadget repair group [4] , was based in Oxford [2] with 1,100 staff in Scotland at two locations. [2] It repairing products, such as mobile phones, laptops and tablets, satnavs, set-top boxes and televisions, for companies under contracts. [5] [6]

In 2011, Regeneris was targeted by Hanover Investors, who increased their share in the company to 14%. [2] Regeneris's chair, Jeff Hewitt and non-executive directors, David Holland and David Gilbert, moved aside and were replaced with Hanover founding partner, Matthew Peacock as chair and Andrew Lee an executive. [4] Three years after Hanover's increased stake, shares prices in Regeneris had increased five-fold. [5]

In March 2014, Regenersis bought Blancco Oy (Blancco Ltd), a market leader in data erasure software, [6] expecting increasing demand for data erasure services, [3] particularly hoping to capitalise on the then upcoming European General Data Protection Regulation which was expected to increase the compliance burden for companies holding consumer data. [7]

Blancco

In 1997, Janne Tervo and Kim Väisänen co-founded Carelian Innovation Ltd. The company's first data erasure product, Blancco Data Cleaner, was released in 1999. Then, in 2000, Carelian Innovations Ltd. changed its name to Blannco Oy.

Sun Microsystems and Blancco formed a partnership in 2007 to deliver data erasure. In 2007, Blancco was approved and included in the NATO Information Assurance Product Catalogue (NIAPC).[ citation needed ] The company expanded its product line in 2008 with the introduction of the Blancco 4.5 client series for added server support, and the Data Center Edition, which enables safe reuse of the hard drives in mass storage environments for clients such as Sun, HP and EMC that need deep data expunging. [8]

The company released Blancco Mobile for smartphone erasure in 2012. In 2011, Blancco LUN was launched and in 2012 Blancco 5 and Management Console 3 were released. The company also acquired DBAN in 2012 and received Common Criteria certification in that same year.

Blancco was acquired by Regenersis in April 2014. [9]

Divestment

In 2016, Regenersis appointed separate chief executives for its after-market services and digital security businesses as it was looking to sell the former. [6]

Today

Blancco Technology Group operates two distinct business units: Blancco (data erasure) and SmartChk (mobile diagnostics). It employs 240 people worldwide across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company is headquartered in Alpharetta, GA, United States.

Blancco

Blancco Ltd. is an international data security company that specializes in data erasure and computer reuse for corporations, governments [10] and computer remarketing companies. [11] Founded and headquartered in Joensuu, Finland, the company operates from offices across Europe, North America, Asia, and Australasia. Blancco is a wholly owned subsidiary of Blancco Technology Group. [12]

Blancco's data wiping products scale from a single, reusable PC tools to software for mass storage environments and data centers.

Partnerships

Blancco Technology Group (BLTG) partners with multiple resellers and distributors, including IT asset disposition vendors, mobile services and recycling providers, data centers and cloud storage providers.

References

  1. "Francisco Partners Completes Acquisition of Blancco Technology Group". Francisco Partners. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Activist investor Hanvover lifts stake in Regenersis to 14%". The Scotsman. 5 February 2011. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  3. 1 2 Gourley, Perry (31 March 2014). "Gadget repairer Regenersis raises £100m". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Hanover forces a revolution at Regenersis". The Scotsman. 8 February 2011. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Share wather: Regenersis backers rewarded". The Scotsman. 9 March 2014. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 Gourley, Perry (14 January 2016). "Regenersis sparks interest from potential buyers". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  7. Agnihotri, Aastha (31 March 2014). "Regenersis buys data erasure firm; shares jump". Reuters. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  8. "Deep Data Erasure from Blancco,” Ferris Research, (September 4, 2008)
  9. "Regenersis To Acquire Blancco In EUR 60 Mln Deal - Quick Facts,” RTT News, (March 31, 2014) Archived August 10, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  10. “Reusing hardware: Erase data but leave an audit trail - California county extends IT life with auditable data erasure,” Government Computer News, (Dec. 1, 2010)
  11. “SRS partners with Blancco to wipe out business risk for clients,” Recycling Today, (June 22, 2010) Archived February 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  12. “Regenersis purchase of Blancco exploits data privacy push,” Financial Times, (April 16, 2014)