HP's $1.5bn ArcSight acquisition to close within days
HP's purchase of enterprise security vendor ArcSight is nearly complete following the successful tender of the majority of ArcSight shares, HP announced on Thursday.
The acquisition —announced on the 19 September— saw HP offer $43.50 per share for the company in a deal worth a total of nearly $1.5bn.
The offer closed at midnight on the 20 October at which point approximately 33.1m shares —92 percent of the total— had been tendered.
Completion of the offer marks the end of the first stage of the acquisition finalisation process, the second stage —merging ArcSight with an HP subsidiary— is expected to be take place in the next few days, according to HP.
HP hopes that by purchasing the company it will be able to offer a more comprehensive overview of IT security and compliance issues to its customers.
"HP will be able to offer an integrated security platform that delivers broader visibility, deeper context and faster remediation of enterprise-wide security and risk-related events. In a world where perimeter security is no longer enough, businesses need this holistic approach to securing their networks, applications and sensitive data," said Tom Reilly, president and chief executive officer for ArcSight, in a statement in September.
The purchase is the latest in a long line for the hardware and software giant. In August HP announced that it was purchasing privately held security company Fortify for an undisclosed sum.
Other HP acquisitions this year include Palm —bought largely for its WebOS platform—, database application automation company Stratavia, and more recently, virtual storage specialists 3Par, which HP picked up after trumping Dell in a bidding war.
***Update*** HP announced on Friday that the acquisition is now complete, with ArcSight now a subsidiary of HP. "Further details on the ArcSight product integration into the HP Software and Solutions portfolio as HP expands into the security information event management (SIEM) market will be announced at a later date," the company said in a statement.