Check Point buys US co Sourcefire for $225m
Gil Shwed: The acquisition is an important step in delivering Check Point's expanded strategy.
Globes correspondent 6 Oct 05 14:57
Internet security company Check Point (Nasdaq: CHKP) has signed an agreement to buy privately held company Sourcefire Network Security for $225 million.
The consideration includes cash and assumption of the Sourcefire stock option plan.
The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and the stockholders of Sourcefire, and is expected to close by the first quarter of 2006, subject to regulatory approvals.
Check Point said that Sourcefire would strengthen its perimeter, internal, Web and endpoint security portfolio, and would expand its opportunity to take advantage of the fast-growing Intrusion Prevention and Network Awareness Internet security segments. The company said the acquisition would also give it access to the talent of Sourcefire employees, and strengthen its relationship with Sourcefire enterprise customers and the Snort community with tens of thousand of users worldwide.
Check Point chairman and CEO Gil Shwed said, "We believe Sourcefire has world-class solutions for internal security through their Intrusion Sensor, Real-time Network Awareness (RNA), and Defense Center product lines. These align perfectly with Check Point's vision for internal security and are ideal complements to our InterSpect and Integrity solutions.
"Both companies share a deep commitment to customers, and this acquisition will enable us to deliver the industry's most comprehensive end-to-end Internet security to all types of customers -- from consumers to the largest enterprises."
Sourcefire was recently declared the best Intrusion Prevention solution among twelve vendors evaluated by Secure Computing Magazine. Earlier this year Sourcefire was named Frost and Sullivan's "Security Company of the Year" and the Most Innovative Company at the 2005 RSA Conference. In April, Sourcefire's Real-time Network Awareness (RNA) solution became only the fifth product in history to receive "NSS Gold" for its unique ability to solve customers' complex security awareness issues.
"Over the past two years Check Point expanded its strategy from primarily offering perimeter gateway security solutions to provide a fully integrated architecture for perimeter, internal, Web and endpoint security," Shwed continued. "This architecture enables our customers to take a proactive approach to security, prevent known and unknown threats and utilize security as a critical layer in today's networked business environment. The acquisition of Sourcefire is an important step in delivering this expanded strategy by enhancing our set of attack prevention intelligent technologies and providing the most comprehensive internal security solutions portfolio."
Check Point also announced today that it would report its third quarter financial results on October 28. The company said it expected the results to be within guidance.
Total revenue for the third quarter is expected to be in the range of $140 million to $141.5 million. Earnings per share for the third quarter, excluding acquisition-related charges, are expected to be in the range of $0.31 to $0.32.
The company's guidance provided on July 19 was for revenue in the range of $140 million to $150 million and earnings per share, excluding acquisition-related charges, in the range of $0.30 to $0.33.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 6, 2005
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