McAfee Buys Cloud Security Developer Stonesoft For $389 million In Cash

By: Talha Bhatti  |   May 6th, 2013   |   Business, News

Digital security specialist, McAfee, has stated that it is acquiring a Finnish firm that deals in firewall protection products. The purchase will cost the Intel owned firm $389 million in cash and bolster its existing antivirus services by adding cloud-based networked security products. Stonesoft is a publicly-traded business so it has released a statement to the public stating that the McAfee deal should be accepted. The deal on the table will give stockholder €4.50 ($5.90) per share in cash, which comes out to be a 142% premium.

 

The buy out shows the growing need for security with cloud based services that have become popular because users that now own multiple devices including laptops, mobiles and tablets. are storing data on the cloud. Stonesoft currently has 6,500 customers who purchase the firms security-as-a-service product offering cutting edge networked-security

solutions.
Michael DeCesare, McAfee President stated that, “With the pending addition of Stonesoft’s products and services, McAfee is making a significant investment in next-generation firewall technology. These solutions anticipate emerging customer needs in a continually evolving threat landscape. Stonesoft is a leading innovator in this important market segment.”

 

He went on tot say that, “Stonesoft is a leading innovator in this important market segment. We plan to integrate Stonesoft’s offerings with other McAfee products to realize the power of McAfee’s Security Connected strategy. Stonesoft products will benefit from the collective expertise of more than 7,200 McAfee employees. Leveraging McAfee’s cloud-based Global Threat Intelligence service will provide our combined customers with unparalleled security.”

 

Ilkka Hiidenheimo, Chief Executive Officer of Stonesoft, also spoke about the deal and said, “The combination of the two companies allows Stonesoft to benefit from McAfee’s global presence and sales organization of over 2,200 employees, best-in-class threat research and technology synergies. Combined, we believe we can offer our customers a world-class product portfolio with world-class support – all backed by Intel.”

 

The latest move from McAfee is a follow up to a the purchase of ValidEdge that took place two months ago and added to the Intel owned firms malware detection services.

 

McAfee is looking to increase its expertise in areas where their is a growing need like network security. This is because the company is seeing its traditional customer base fall apart as PC sales plummet.  There is still a need for security but the requirements are quickly changing and McAfee needs to stay at the cutting edge to keep its position as a prominent provider of security.

Source: TechCrunch