Johannesburg, 11 Oct 2005
VAD Africa, a Check Point distributor, has announced that Check Point and Sourcefire have signed a definitive agreement for Check Point to acquire privately held Sourcefire for a total consideration of approximately $225 million.
The transaction 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. The acquisition is subject to closing conditions including the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR) and Exxon-Florio Act of 1988 and is expected to close by Q106 shortly after receiving regulatory approvals.
One of the fastest growing companies in the industry, Sourcefire, with its award-winning solutions for securing mission-critical enterprise networks, is expected to further strengthen Check Point`s perimeter, internal, Web and endpoint security portfolio and to expand its opportunity to take advantage of the fast-growing intrusion prevention and network awareness Internet security segments. Additionally, Check Point will gain 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.
"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," said Gil Shwed, chairman and CEO of Check Point Software Technologies.
"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."
An Internet security pioneer and leader, Check Point delivers the industry`s most intelligent security solutions. Through its NGX platform, it is the only company to deliver a unified security architecture across a broad range of perimeter, internal, Web and endpoint security solutions, enabling enterprises of all sizes to reduce the cost and complexity of security management and ensure their security systems can be easily extended to adapt to new and evolving threats. These solutions protect 100 of the Fortune 100 companies, and are installed at hundreds of thousands of sites worldwide.
"Sourcefire aligns perfectly with Check Point`s approach to delivering intelligent security solutions in multiple layers throughout the network. Sourcefire`s 3D approach - Discover, Determine, Defend - features a network defence system that unifies intrusion and vulnerability management technologies and is a natural fit to Check Point`s solutions specifically in the areas of internal security and security event management," said Niall Moynihan, Check Point Country Manager for Ireland and South Africa.
"The acquisition of Sourcefire is expected to enable Check Point to extend its unified security architecture with attack definitions and intelligent threat detection technologies and expand our solution portfolio to provide the most comprehensive solutions available."
"Our shared passion for excellence and Check Point`s commitment to Sourcefire`s products, partners, customers and the Snort community were paramount in making this decision," said Wayne Jackson, CEO of Sourcefire. "With our common vision for integrating network intelligence with network security, Check Point`s substantial industry, channel and financial strengths will allow us to accelerate our pace of innovation while reaching a global market of enthusiastic partners and customers."
Sourcefire has received significant company and technology recognition throughout 2005. Most recently, Sourcefire was declared the best intrusion prevention solution among 12 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 utilise 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."
For more information, please contact Doros Hadjizenonos on (011) 326 1577 or e-mail doros@vadafrica.co.za.
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