VMware, a global virtualization and cloud infrastructure provider today said that under a definitive agreement company will acquire AirWatch, a enterprise mobile management and security solutions provider.
VMware will buy AirWatch for approximately $1.175 billion in cash and around $365 million in installment payments and assumed unvested equity. The AirWatch team will continue to report to founder and CEO John Marshall as part of VMware’s End-User Computing Group, led by Sanjay Poonen, EVP and GM.
Alan Dabbiere, Co-founder and Chairman AirWatch will be overseeing a new AirWatch operating board which will report to Pat Gelsinger, CEO,VMware. “AirWatch provides best-in-class, secure, enterprise-mobile management to thousands of businesses around the world,” said Pat Gelsinger, CEO, VMware. “With this acquisition VMware will add a foundational element to our end-user computing portfolio that will enable our customers to turbo-charge their mobile workforce without compromising security.”
“When we started AirWatch, we set out to help businesses succeed in the mobile explosion that was set to come. Now there are more than 2 billion smart phones and tablets in the world and more than half of those devices touch an enterprise,” said Alan Dabbiere, Co-founder and Chairman, AirWatch. “By joining a proven innovator like VMware, we now have an opportunity to bring our leading-edge solutions to an even broader set of customers and partners to help them optimize for the mobile-cloud world.”
Privately held and headquartered in Atlanta, GA, AirWatch is a leading provider of enterprise solutions for Mobile Device Management (MDM), Mobile Application Management (MAM) and Mobile Content Management (MCM). With more than 10,000 customers globally and more than 1,600 employees across nine global offices, AirWatch’s solutions give enterprises a strategic platform to securely manage a rapidly growing set of mobile devices and an increasingly mobile workforce. The Atlanta site is expected to expand and be the center of VMware’s mobile operations.
“Our vision is to provide a secure virtual workspace that allows end users to work at the speed of life,” said Sanjay Poonen, EVP and GM of VMware’s End-User Computing group. “The combination of AirWatch and VMware will enable us to deliver unprecedented value to our customers and partners across their desktop and mobile environments.”
This acquisition will expand VMware’s End-User Computing group; AirWatch’s offerings will form an expanded portfolio of mobile solutions that are complementary to VMware’s portfolio. Board of directors of both companies has approved the buyout and it is expected to close during late Q1 2014 subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
The deal will be funded through a combination of balance sheet cash and proceeds from approximately $1 billion of additional debt to be provided by EMC. VMware will also continue with its ongoing share buyback program.
