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by Alan Alper, MA Editorial Staff
Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 5:53:00 PM Sign Up to receive Daily News Alerts in your E-mail Inbox    | Abstract: | Internet Security Systems agrees to be acquired by Big Blue in cash deal valued at roughly $1.3 billion; deal extends IBM's software service ambitions. |
| Keywords: | IBM Global Services, Internet Security Systems, malware detection and protection, IBM acquisitions, IBM software as a service, IBM on-demand services |
Continuing an acquisition spree designed to bolster its presence in the software service space, IBM today disclosed an agreement to buy Internet Security Systems Inc. (ISS), an Atlanta-based provider of network security software and services, in a cash transaction valued at approximately $1.3 billion. If consummated, the purchase would be the fifth-largest acquisition in IBM's history. The announcement follows moves made by the industry giant earlier this month to acquire EAM (enterprise asset management) leader MRO Software Inc., document management systems stalwart FileNet Corp., and Web services systems integrator Webify Solutions. (Read more about IBM's recent acquisition flurry.) The deal, which must first be approved by ISS's shareholders and pass regulatory muster, is expected to close in the fourth quarter, IBM said. Under terms of the agreement, ISS would operate as an independent business under its existing senior management within IBM's Global Services unit. ISS, a 14-year-old public company that has been an IBM partner since 1999, is on a revenue run rate of between $355 million and $360 million this year. It offers a variety of hardware devices, software platforms, and on-demand managed services built around a service-oriented architecture that is said to deliver preemptive protection of networked applications that run across the extended enterprise. [Click to continue] |
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