Cisco to buy Splunk in its largest acquisition to date

Cisco will buy cybersecurity firm Splunk for $28 billion

In its largest acquisition to date, Cisco has entered an agreement to buy cybersecurity firm Splunk for $28 billion as part of a larger effort to increase recurring software revenue to its bottom line. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins also emphasized how the deal will increase Cisco’s AI capabilities.

“Our combined capabilities will drive the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability,” Robbins commented in a statement. “From threat detection and response to threat prediction and prevention, we will help make organizations of all sizes more secure and resilient.”

This has been a big year for Cisco in terms of acquisitions. In June, for instance, the company announced its intent to buy out private-equity-backed network monitoring and assurance company Accedian, which has been partnering with the IT and networking giant on assurance for telco networks. Then, in August Cisco revealed plans to acquire Working Group Two (WG2) from Telenor Group for $150 million. WG2 offers mobile operators a cloud-based core network, before it was spun out in 2017. Now, Cisco is looking to use the acquisition to bolster its recently announced mobility services platform and help operators launch new services across the IoT and industry verticals.

The Splunk deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, and according to both company’s the pair have “complementary capabilities” that “will provide observability across hybrid and multi-cloud environments,” which will allow customers to provide improved application experiences.

“Uniting with Cisco represents the next phase of Splunk’s growth journey, accelerating our mission to help organizations worldwide become more resilient, while delivering immediate and compelling value to our shareholders,” said Gary Steele, president and CEO of Splunk. “Together, we will form a global security and observability leader that harnesses the power of data and AI to deliver excellent customer outcomes and transform the industry.”