Cisco intends to acquire Splunk, a leading cybersecurity and observability company, for $157 per share in cash, representing approximately $28 billion in equity value.
The acquisition builds on Splunk’s expertise in helping organizations enhance their digital resilience and aims to accelerate Cisco’s strategy to secure connectivity. The combination of these two established leaders in AI, security and observability will help make organizations more secure and resilient, according to a joint statement.
“We’re excited to bring Cisco and Splunk together. Our combined capabilities will drive the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability,” said Chuck Robbins, chair and CEO of Cisco. “From threat detection and response to threat prediction and prevention, we will help make organizations of all sizes more secure and resilient.”
“Uniting with Cisco represents the next phase of Splunk’s growth journey, accelerating our mission to help organizations worldwide become more resilient while delivering immediate and compelling value to our shareholders,” said Gary Steele, president and CEO of Splunk.
Cisco and Splunk will strive to address the challenges of today’s hyperconnected world head-on.
Cisco and Splunk’s complementary capabilities will provide observability across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, enabling the company’s customers to deliver smooth application experiences that power their digital businesses. Cisco and Splunk are well positioned to help customers responsibly harness the power of AI given their substantial scale, visibility into data and foundation of trust.
The boards of directors of both Cisco and Splunk unanimously approved the acquisition. It is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of the calendar year 2024, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions, including approval by Splunk shareholders.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Splunk president and CEO Gary Steele will join Cisco’s Executive Leadership Team, reporting to Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins.
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