Cisco to Acquire Sourcefire for $2.7 Billion

Cisco announced that it has agreed to acquire Sourcefire, a fast growing provider of network security solutions, for roughly $2.7 billion in a cash deal.

Under the terms of the agreement, the networking giant will pay $76 per share in cash for each share of Sourcefire (NASDAQ: FIRE) and assume outstanding equity awards for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2.7 billion, including retention-based incentives, the company said in announcement. 

Shares of Sourcefire were at $59.08 at the close of trading on Monday.

The acquisition has been approved by the board of directors of each company.

Columbia, MD-based Sourcefire was founded in 2001 and went public in 2007, and has more than 650 employees worldwide. Sourcefire reported 2012 revenue of $223.1 million.

“‘Buy’ has always been a key part of our build-buy-partner innovation strategy,” said Hilton Romanski, vice president, Cisco Corporate Development. “Sourcefire aligns well with Cisco’s future vision for security and supports the key pillars of our security strategy. Through our shared view of the critical role the network must play in cybersecurity and threat defense, we have a unique opportunity to deliver the most comprehensive approach to security in the market.”

“The notion of the ‘perimeter’ no longer exists and today’s sophisticated threats are able to circumvent traditional, disparate security products. Organizations require continuous and pervasive advanced threat protection that addresses each phase of the attack continuum,” said Christopher Young, senior vice president, Cisco Security Group. “With the acquisition of Sourcefire, we believe our customers will benefit from one of the industry’s most comprehensive, integrated security solutions — one that is simpler to deploy, and offers better security intelligence.”

“Cisco’s acquisition of Sourcefire will help accelerate the realization of our vision for a new model of security across the extended network,” said Martin Roesch, founder and chief technology officer of Sourcefire. “We’re excited about the opportunities ahead to expand our footprint via Cisco’s global reach, as well as Cisco’s commitment to support our pace of innovation in both commercial markets and the open source community.”

The acquisition is expected to close during the second half of calendar year 2013, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory reviews. Upon completion of the transaction Sourcefire employees will join the Cisco Security Group led by Christopher Young.