Fergie's Tech Blog

EMC to Buy RSA Security for Nearly $2.1 Billion

An AP newswire article by Mark Jewell, via The Boston Globe, reports that:

Data storage provider EMC Corp. on Thursday said it agreed to buy RSA Security Inc. in an all-cash deal totaling nearly $2.1 billion that will give EMC RSA's encryption software and computer authentication products.

EMC will pay $28 for each share of RSA Security, whose shares closed up 18 percent at $22.88 on the Nasdaq on Thursday after the company confirmed it was in talks with unidentified parties interested in buying the firm.

Hopkinton-based EMC and Bedford-based RSA Security said in a joint news release that they expect to complete the deal either in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

EMC, the largest provider of data storage systems for business customers, is far larger than RSA, with nearly $10 billion in revenue last year to RSA's $310 million. EMC's stock has languished in recent years as the company has made a string of acquisitions to expand from storage hardware into more lucrative services and software to help manage data and keep it secure.

posted by Fergie @ 6/29/2006 03:04:00 PM