Cisco to buy cybersecurity firm Splunk for $28B

Cisco will acquire cybersecutiry company Splunk for $157 per share in cash, representing approximately $28 billion in equity value, a statement from the company said.

As part of the acquisition, Gary Steele, President and CEO, Splunk, will join Cisco’s Executive Leadership Team. He will report to Chuck Robbins, CEO and Chairman, Cisco.

Splunk helps organisations monitor and analyse their data to minimise the risk of hacks and resolve technical issues faster. Post acquisition, it will help Cisco accelerate its strategy to securely connect everything. Together, the two AI leaders are expected to make organisations more secure and resilient.

“Our combined capabilities will drive the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability,” said Robbins. “From threat detection and response to threat prediction and prevention, we will help make organisations of all sizes more resilient,” he added.

“Uniting with Cisco represents the next phase of Splunk’s growth journey, accelerating our mission to help organisations worldwide become more resilient, while delivering immediate and compelling value to our shareholders,” said Steele.

Together, Cisco and Splunk aim to address challenges that arise out of the acceleration and adoption of generative AI, expanding threat surfaces, and multiple cloud environments.

The companies are expected to provide security analytics and coverage from devices to applications to clouds.