Cisco Acquires Sourcefire For $2.7 Billion

Cisco (CSCO) announced a definitive agreement to acquire cybersecurity solutions provider  Sourcefire. Cisco and Sourcefire will combine their products, technologies and research teams to provide advanced threat protection across the entire attack continuum  – before, during and after an attack – and from any device to any cloud.

The acquisition is expected to close later this year and will boost Cisco's security portfolio and strategy. Under the terms of the deal, Cisco will pay $76 a share in cash, nearly 30 percent higher than Sourcefire’s closing price on Monday. The offer includes retention-based incentives for Sourcefire’s executives.

"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."

For more analysis and commentary, see coverage from The New York Times, Reuters and GigaOm.