Big M&A: Cisco-Splunk Update, SAP, Broadcom-VMware Latest, Palo Alto Networks Rumors
The M&A chatter isn't limited to big vendors. MSPs and technology vendors have been getting into the act in a big way.
![Big M&A deals Big M&A deals](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/bltbbe4cdf7c7f9d28c/6537c3d39d2b578c402be556/MA.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
3rdtimeluckystudio/Shutterstock
Far and away the biggest acquisition announcement in September, at least in terms of price tag, went to Cisco. The IT giant said it would buy Splunk for a whopping $28 billion.
Allie Mellen, security and risk analyst at Forrester, called the acquisition a “massive win” for Cisco’s security business.
The long-rumored acquisition could take a while to clear regulatory hurdles in part due to its size.
Cisco told us that Splunk’s security capabilities complement its existing portfolio and together will offer “leading security coverage from devices to applications, to clouds.”
Splunk’s bread and butter is its security information and event management platform.
Go inside the acquisition, then hear what partners had to say about it.
Palo Alto Networks could be looking to Israel, a hotbed for cybersecurity startups, for its next acquisitions.
TechCrunch specifically cited Talon Cyber Security and Dig Security as potential M&A targets for the California-based cyber giant. The combined deals could be worth $1 billion.
Talon is a provider of enterprise browser technology, while Dig secures data across public clouds.
Analysts tell Channel Futures that both companies are emerging players and could be good buys for Palo Alto Networks.
Read the full story and decide for yourself.
The biggest news coming out of security provider Crowdstrike‘s Fal.Con event last month was its acquisition of Bionic, the provider of an application security posture management (ASPM) platform.
Crowdstrike says it will be able to add the Bionic ASPM to its cloud-native application protection platform. For partners and customers, that means the opportunity to sell comprehensive risk visibility and protection for cloud infrastructure, as well as for the apps and services running within the cloud.
Read more about Crowdstrike’s acquisition of Bionic.
In another significant cybersecurity acquisition, WatchGuard Technologies said it would buy CyGlass Technology Services. The move aims to give WatchGuard’s unified security platform more capabilities.
CyGlass is known for its cloud- and network-centric threat detection and response solutions. WatchGuard now expects to deliver AI-based detection of network anomalies with a future network detection and response service.
Get the full scoop on the added benefits to customers and partners.
Broadcom‘s acquisition of VMware, which at last word was finally set to close at the end of this month, has raised as many questions as it has provided answers.
The latest news stemmed from an email obtained by Business Insider, which said VMware employees on the first day of the combined company will get one of three choices: a job offer, an offer for a transitional position, or a severance package. Who will get which one remains a mystery.
The email went on to say that managers “are unlikely to know about their or their team’s status ahead of time.”
No doubt some nerves are on edge over at VMware. Read more about the acquisition and the email here.
Holding company Evergreen Services Group made its first acquisition of a managed service provider in the U.K.
The acquiree is The Final Step. Evergreen, which has 65 companies in North America in its portfolio, said The Final Step’s business model, finances, veteran management team, reputation and focus on professional services made it a great fit for Evergreen.
Here’s where to get more information about the acquisition.
New York City-based Net at Work, the $100 million technology and business solution provider that landed at No. 258 on this year’s Channel Futures MSP 501, teamed up with Lovell Minnick Partners, a private-equity firm.
Net at Work is a 26-year-old company that claims to “handle the end-to-end for SMB clients.”
The MSP plans to use the undisclosed amount of funding to build out Net at Work’s divisions and acquire other MSPs. It also wants to bring in more talent.
Dig in deeper on what this investment means to Net at Work.
Is it the bluegrass, the bourbon or something else?
The state of Kentucky is a hotspot for Bluewave Technology Group, the Columbia Capital-backed advisory firm that’s been on a buying spree, but particularly in Kentucky where it just made its third acquisition.
The latest acquiree is JIL Communications of Louisville. JIL, a 24-year-old company, focuses on health care and manufacturing customers. It has 350 clients.
Learn what else at JIL was attractive to Bluewave.
Tenable, which bills itself as an exposure management company, plunked down $265 million for Ermetic, a cybersecurity vendor based in Israel.
What made it worth that big asking price? Ermetic has a cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP). It also offers cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM). Tenable will integrate those capabilities into its Tenable One platform, promising contextual risk visibility, prioritization and remediation across infrastructure and identities, whether that be on premises or in the cloud.
There’s more here that you’ll want to know.
SAP, the enterprise resource planning software giant, is buying LeanIX, the Germany-based enterprise architecture management provider. Look for the deal to close in the fourth quarter.
LeanIX has more than 1,000 customers that leverage their SaaS offering to visualize their IT applications. The company has an AI assistant that will integrate into SAP’s new business transformation suite.
Get the full scoop on this important acquisition.
It’s a combination of security and managed services.
Dataprise, the MSP that just in June acquired a Texas-based MSP, wrapped its purchase of Cohere Cyber Secure, a security-first MSP based in New York City.
Dataprise gets its backing from Trinity Hunt Partners, of which it is a portfolio company.
The Cohere acquisition expands Dataprise’s portfolio of services and its operations in the Big Apple.
Learn more about the deal here.
U.K.-based DSP, an MSP that specializes in databases, cloud and applications, has taken an investment from LDC, a private equity investor that is part of Lloyds Banking Group.
The MSP wants to grow internationally, and says this investment will help it do just that.
DSP is an enterprise data and cloud platform specialist that manages high-performance database and IT infrastructure. It has expertise and capabilities in Oracle, SQL server and multicloud technologies.
Oval Partners-backed New Charter Technologies has a new partnership with fellow managed service provider Complete Technology Solutions (CTS) of Sparta, Illinois.
CTS offers IT services in the Midwest.
Dubbing it a “strategic alliance,” CTS says the move underscores its ambition to expand its services and tap into additional expertise with the goal of delivering even better service to its customers.
New Charter says the CTS team will be able to enhance their offerings to customers via a more comprehensive approach, namely in areas such as web design and software development/integration thanks to the new partnership with New Charter.
Recast Software, with headquarters in Minneapolis, has acquired Liquit, the application management provider.
Recast, which specializes in endpoint management, says it’s a perfect marriage of the two technologies. It consolidates the endpoint and application management markets and positions Recast Software to offer a “complete application delivery platform.”
Liquit is based in the Netherlands. Its application allows IT teams to configure, update and provision applications “rapidly and securely,” while enabling end users “seamless access” to applications.
Needham, Massachusetts-based managed IT solutions provider Coretelligent bought Advanced Network Products (ANP).
Coretelligent says buying ANP expands its technical expertise within the Microsoft stack. Most notably, the company can leverage Azure for streamlined infrastructure management and “seamless integration” with on-premises systems.
ANP also brings to Coretelligent a proficiency in unlocking and integrating Microsoft security features that many customers fail to implement, even though they are included within their Microsoft products.
SCC, the European tech solutions and services firm, has made a majority investment in Nimble, the U.K.-based digital engineering consultancy.
The announcement by SCC marks another step in what the company calls its “digital solutions and services provider” (DSSP) strategy, a plan expected to result in the building of a 2,000-person European digital consultancy by 2030.
SCC will run Nimble as a separate company, keeping the Nimble management team. Additional strategy support will come from senior SCC execs.
A pair of longtime business partners that provide outsourced IT services for managed service providers are formally joining forces.
U.K.-based Uptime Solutions and Inbay Ltd. announced their merger, becoming what they say is “the go-to-destination for comprehensive outsourced IT services that meet the ever-changing demands of MSPs.
The companies say as a result of their tie-up, MSPs will benefit from Uptime’s help desk services, delivered from its U.K., U.S. and New Zealand offices, while getting network operations center, dedicated tech and projects from Inbay, now all under one roof, if you will.
A pair of longtime business partners that provide outsourced IT services for managed service providers are formally joining forces.
U.K.-based Uptime Solutions and Inbay Ltd. announced their merger, becoming what they say is “the go-to-destination for comprehensive outsourced IT services that meet the ever-changing demands of MSPs.
The companies say as a result of their tie-up, MSPs will benefit from Uptime’s help desk services, delivered from its U.K., U.S. and New Zealand offices, while getting network operations center, dedicated tech and projects from Inbay, now all under one roof, if you will.
Big M&A deals over the past month had people talking.
None was bigger than Cisco’s announcement that it would spend $28 billion on Splunk, the security information and event management company. We’ll have to wait a while for that to clear regulatory hurdles.
The next biggest is also in the security sector — but it hasn’t happened yet. Palo Alto Networks is rumored to be going after a couple of cyber companies in Israel in what could be a deal worth $1 billion.
Not to be outdone, CrowdStrike announced a deal at its Fal.Con event to buy Bionic, the provider of an application security posture management platform.
More Big M&A Deals than Just Security
But cybersecurity wasn’t the only pool M&A was playing in last month. A handful of managed service providers either acquired other MSPs or took investments from private-equity companies. And lest you think the more traditional technology advisor community was left out, Bluewave Technology Group headed to the Bluegrass State for its third acquisition there.
We’ve updated you plenty on Broadcom’s pending acquisition of VMware, which is scheduled to close at the end of this month. But you might not have seen the leaked email that details what could be happening to some VMware employees.
All of those details around big M&A deals can be found in the slideshow above. And if you missed our last big M&A update, it’s here.
Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email Craig Galbraith or connect with him on LinkedIn. |
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like