Wednesday 22 January 2014

VMware shells out $1.54bn for mobile management outfit Airwatch

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VMware has confirmed plans to purchase mobile management and security services provider Airwatch for $1.54bn.
VMware announced the deal had been approved by both companies' boards and is forecast to close by the end of this quarter.
The deal will see VMware, which is owned by storage provider EMC, pay $1.175bn in cash and $365m in installment payments. VMware plans to integrate Airwatch staff into the company's End-User Computing Group following the acquisition.
The Airwatch team will primarily work from their Atlanta base and will continue to answer directly to company founder and chief executive officer John Marshall, who will report to VMware chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger.
Airwatch currently has nine offices across the world, boasts a workforce of 1,600 people and is listed as having over 10,000 customers globally.
Executive vice president and general manager of VMware's End-User Computing group, Sanjay Poonen, confirmed that the company plans to expand Airwatch's Atlanta offices to become the centre of its mobile operations.
"Our vision is to provide a secure virtual workspace that allows end users to work at the speed of life," he said. "The combination of Airwatch and VMware will enable us to deliver unprecedented value to our customers and partners across their desktop and mobile environments."
VMware also announced on Wednesday that it estimates revenue of $1.48bn for the fourth quarter.
VMware is one many firms to acquire a security company over the past year. Advanced threat specialist FireEye confirmed plans to purchase end-point protection firm Mandiant earlier in January for $1bn.
IBM also purchased security firm Trusteer earlier in August 2013, promising it will use the company's anti-hacker technology to bolster customers' cyber defences.

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