The Island's largest telecommunications company ? KeyTech Limited ? has expanded its reach with a minority stake in Bermuda-based technology security firm QuoVadis.

KeyTech ? the parent company of BTC, Mobility, Logic Communications and part owner of Bermuda CableVision ? said in a Press statement that it had acquired a 30 percent investment in QuoVadis, effectively replacing founding shareholder Centre Group and its parent Zurich Financial Services, as well as saying it was providing expansion funding for QuoVadis.

QuoVadis head of development Stephen Davidson told the "significant capital infusion" from KeyTech would allow the company to expand its product as well as widen its distribution channels.

Specifically the capital injection would enable the company to "increase channels outside of Bermuda" by offering QuoVadis' Bermuda-based technologies in international markets.

Mr. Davidson said QuoVadis was already active in some Caribbean and European markets and the desire was to "step that up".

He continued: "We wanted to have an investor partnership with somebody that had common interest. Obviously (with Key Tech as a telecoms company) there is a lot of cross over," he said.

In addition, QuoVadis yesterday announced that all employees had become shareholders. COO Tony Nagel praised "every member of our team" as contributing to the company's "tremendous momentum over the past five years".

"We felt it was important to recognise their hard work through participation in QuoVadis' future growth," he said, of giving staff a stake.

Mr. Davidson said: "We have a very unique team in terms of their skill set and ability to perform together. These guys have shown a real commitment to QuoVadis over last several years."

QuoVadis was founded in 1999 as an e-VentureCentre incubator company ? an initiative, largely underwritten by Centre Solutions to help fledgling companies get off the ground with housing and funding. To date, QuoVadis is best known for providing digital certificates, a form of electronic identification used to identify users and protect information as it passes over the Internet.

The company became the first accredited Bermuda Certification Services provider in 2001, making transactions legally binding for customers doing business online.

Yesterday KeyTech's investment was said to spell little change for QuoVadis with word that it would "continue to operate independently under its founders and existing management team".

KeyTech CEO Sheila Manderson said: "We are pleased to make this investment in QuoVadis, whose business and expertise both compliment and enhance the offerings of other KeyTech companies."

She continued: "Security is a top issue as technology pervades our personal and working lives and QuoVadis has proven its mettle as an international security provider".

QuoVadis CEO Roman Brunner said: "The synergies and investment brought from our KeyTech relationship will allow QuoVadis to expand both our service offering and geographic reach to meet the needs of our international customers."

QuoVadis also offers outsourced security and business continuity services, ranging from network monitoring to remote data backup.