Fergie's Tech Blog

VeriSign to Buy GeoTrust for $125M

Via Netcraft.

VeriSign, Inc. will acquire its leading competitor in the market for SSL certificates, GeoTrust Inc., for $125 million in cash, the two companies said today. The deal will solidify VeriSign's dominant position in the market for SSL certificates, which are used to secure web sites for Internet e-commerce. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the second half of this year, the companies said.

VeriSign certificates secure approximately 45 percent of the SSL-enabled sites on the Internet, while GeoTrust certificates are found on 27 percent, according to Netcraft's SSL Survey, which provides detailed analysis of trends in the SSL market. The companies have both announced their support for a new tier of high-security SSL certificates for e-commerce sites, expected to be introduced later this year.

posted by Fergie @ 5/17/2006 08:11:00 AM