Panda Security Buys Three New Franchises to Further Global Expansion, Research, Development & Innovation Strategy

Panda Security, the Cloud Security Company, today announced that it has bought 100 percent of its Swedish, Finnish and UK franchises, furthering the aggressive investment plan started in 2007 with a view to consolidating the company's international assets. In the last two years, existing franchises in Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Japan and China have been bought and integrated as subsidiaries in the Panda Group. These recent acquisitions, in addition to existing subsidiaries in the US, Spain and France, bring the current total up to 12. Over the next few weeks, Panda is expected to buy a company in China and make further investments throughout Asia. The company now has franchises in 44 countries, bringing its total number of offices to 56.

This latest investment is in line with the strategic plan established in 2007 after a group of investment funds led by Investindustrial entered into the company's share capital. The new shareholders embarked on an ambitious internationalization plan and resolved to increase market share in countries where the company had previously been operating with limited market penetration.

The strategic plan emphasized investments in international expansion and infrastructure, allowing Panda Security to exploit the full potential of its technology, in particular Collective Intelligence, which analyzes, classifies and disinfects malware automatically, processing samples in just six minutes, and leveraging this knowledge to protect all Panda users in real-time. This technology has allowed Panda to consolidate its position as a global leader in technology, launching the industry's first cloud-based antivirus with a minimal impact on PC performance (www.cloudantivirus.com).

"Thanks to our new shareholders, led by Investindustrial, we are in a comfortable position to meet present challenges brought about by the economic crisis and increased competition in the security market," said Juan Santana, CEO of Panda Security. "After 20 years of success, Panda can make the investments we need, which makes us highly competitive within the corporate and consumer markets and from a technology and product point of view. We also have a highly scalable business model that gives us the flexibility to grow."

Similarly, despite the economic recession and widespread cost cutting, Panda Security is growing internationally in terms of revenue and the number of clients. The company has increased its annual marketing budget by 30 percent and plans to increase its workforce by 10 percent (excluding takeovers). So far 40 new employees have been hired, and another 45 are forecast for the rest of the year.

"We plan to continue this type of investment over the next few years and continue growing with a view to flotation on the stock market in three to five years," concludes Santana.

About Panda Security

Founded in 1990, Panda Security is the world's leading provider of cloud-based security solutions with products available in more than 23 languages and millions of users located in 195 countries around the world. Panda Security was the first IT security company to harness the power of cloud computing with its Collective Intelligence technology. This innovative security model can automatically analyze and classify thousands of new malware samples per day, guaranteeing corporate customers and home users the most effective protection against Internet threats with minimum impact on PC performance. Panda Security has 56 offices throughout the globe with US headquarters in California and European headquarters in Spain. For more information, log on to http://www.pandasecurity.com/.