In its largest-ever deal, Cisco Systems has agreed to pay $28 billion to acquire cybersecurity company Splunk.
This announcement sees Cisco continue its 2023 buying spree in a bid to enhance its cybersecurity offering. Previous acquisitions of note include Code BGP (a monitoring company based in Greece), Armorblox (a cybersecurity start-up specialising in predictive and generative AI) and Valtix (a cloud network security company).
The acquisition of Splunk marks Cisco’s largest deal to date and showcases the company’s ambition to capitalise on the rising use of artificial intelligence and intent to build up its software business.
The all-cash deal, which is expected to close before the fourth quarter of 2024, sees Cisco paying $157 per share, which represents a 31% premium on Splunk’s last closing price. Should the deal fall through, Cisco faces a $1.48 billion termination fee.
Both companies commented in a joint statement: “Combined, Cisco and Splunk will become one of the world's largest software companies and will accelerate Cisco's business transformation to more recurring revenue."