Virtualization giant VMware Inc. has paid the price for where it is today, announcing the acquisition of software development platform provider Pivotal Software Inc. which is a leader in native provisioning of cloud and cloud security platforms, and cyber security company Carbon Black Inc. a mobile device cybersecurity player, for an estimated combined price of $4.8 billion.
On the one hand, VMware and Pivotal Software announced that the companies had signed a definitive agreement under which VMware would acquire Pivotal at a weighted price of $11.71 per share, in total, the consideration for the merger representing a business value of $2.7 billion for Pivotal.
VMware to pay $5 billion for firms offering cloud security, developers platform
After closing the transaction, VMware will be able to provide the most complete portfolio based on Kubernetes for business applications for modern applications. “Kubernetes is becoming the de-facto standard for modern multi-cloud applications.
“We are delighted to combine Pivotal’s development platform, tools and services with VMware’s infrastructure capabilities to provide a complete portfolio of Kubernetes to create, execute and manage modern applications,” said Pat Gelsinger, CEO of VMware. “It is important to note that the addition of Pivotal to our platform accelerates our broader vision and strengthens our leadership position in the modern multi-cloud IT infrastructure.
“This is an ideal time to join forces with VMware, an industry leader who shares our commitment to making contributions to the open-source community and our goal of adding value to developers beyond Kubernetes,” said Rob Mee, CEO of Pivotal.
To create modern business applications and protect workloads
“VMware has a proven track record of helping organizations operate and manage a coherent infrastructure to support mission-critical applications. Our two companies have already built a solid foundation on the success of our collaboration with VMware PKS. We look forward to continuing our work with VMware to deliver even more value to customers building modern applications.
“VMware’s Board of Directors is committed to creating value for all shareholders,” said Karen Dykstra, Chair of VMware’s Board of Directors Special Committee. “After a thorough and independent evaluation of its advisors and close collaboration with VMware’s management team, the Special Committee recommended that the Board approve this transaction with Pivotal, given its strong long-term strategic value to the company and its customers.
In addition, VMware and Carbon Black, a leader in cloud security protection, announced that the two companies have signed a definitive agreement under which VMware will acquire Carbon Black in a $2.1 billion transaction. Once the transaction is complete, VMware will be positioned to provide cloud security that will better protect the company’s workloads and customers through large volumes of data, behavioral analysis, and artificial intelligence.
VMware Cloud Security Getting advanced
“The security industry is failing and inefficient with too many fragmented solutions and without a coherent platform architecture. By integrating carbon black into the VMware family, we are taking a big step forward in security and providing an enterprise platform to manage and protect workloads, applications, and networks,” said Gelsinger. “With this acquisition, VMware will also be a leader in security for the new era of modern applications delivered from any cloud to any device.
“Today marks an important milestone for Carbon Black, VMware, and the entire cybersecurity industry,” said Patrick Morley, CEO of Carbon Black. “We now have the ability to seamlessly integrate Carbon Black’s native endpoint protection platform into all VMware Cloud security checkpoints. This kind of bold approach is exactly what the IT and security industries have been looking for for a long time. We look forward to working with the VMware team to continue to provide a modern cloud security platform to customers around the world. In addition, we are pleased that today’s transaction offers Carbon Black shareholders immediate and substantial value.
“These acquisitions address two technology priorities critical to all businesses: creating modern enterprise-class applications and protecting workloads and corporate customers,” said Pat Gelsinger, general manager of VMware, in VMware magazine.