Cisco to acquire Sourcefire for $2.7 billion

Cisco will acquire Sourcefire, a provider of cybersecurity solutions. The acquisition adds a team with deep security DNA to Cisco and will accelerate delivery of Cisco’s security strategy of defending, discovering, and remediating advanced threats.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will pay $76 per share in cash in exchange for each share of Sourcefire and assume outstanding equity awards for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2.7 billion, including retention-based incentives.

The acquisition has been approved by the board of directors of each company.

“‘Buy’ has always been a key part of our build-buy-partner innovation strategy,” said Hilton Romanski, vice president, Cisco Corporate Development. “Sourcefire aligns well with Cisco’s future vision for security and supports the key pillars of our security strategy. Through our shared view of the critical role the network must play in cybersecurity and threat defense, we have a unique opportunity to deliver the most comprehensive approach to security in the market.”

“The notion of the ‘perimeter’ no longer exists and today’s sophisticated threats are able to circumvent traditional, disparate security products. Organizations require continuous and pervasive advanced threat protection that addresses each phase of the attack continuum,” said Christopher Young, senior vice president, Cisco Security Group.

“With the acquisition of Sourcefire, we believe our customers will benefit from one of the industry’s most comprehensive, integrated security solutions — one that is simpler to deploy, and offers better security intelligence,” Young added.

“Cisco’s acquisition of Sourcefire will help accelerate the realization of our vision for a new model of security across the extended network,” said Martin Roesch, founder and chief technology officer of Sourcefire. “We’re excited about the opportunities ahead to expand our footprint via Cisco’s global reach, as well as Cisco’s commitment to support our pace of innovation in both commercial markets and the open source community.”

The acquisition is expected to close during the second half of calendar year 2013, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory reviews. Cisco expects the acquisition to be slightly dilutive to non-GAAP earnings in fiscal year 2014 due to normal purchase accounting adjustments and integration costs.

Once the transaction closes, Cisco will include Sourcefire into its guidance going forward. Prior to the close, Cisco and Sourcefire will continue to operate as separate companies. Upon completion of the transaction Sourcefire employees will join the Cisco Security Group led by Christopher Young.

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