Computer security software company Symantec is bolstering its web protection portfolio with the acquisition of Web security firm Blue Coat.
Mountain View, Calif.-based Symantec will acquire Blue Coat for about $4.6 billion in cash, the two companies announced Monday. Both boards of directors have approved the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016.
Blue Coat CEO Greg Clark will become CEO of Symantec and join the board when the deal closes. Symantec has had some CEO issues in recent years. It fired CEO Steve Bennett in March 2014 and subsequent CEO Michael Brown stepped down in April.
“With this transaction, we will have the scale, portfolio and resources necessary to usher in a new era of innovation designed to help protect large customers and individual consumers against insider threats and sophisticated cybercriminals,” said Symantec Chairman Dan Schulman said in a statement. "In addition to a proven track record of delivering scale and profitable growth, Greg brings significant leadership experience, deep security expertise and a history of successfully integrating companies into a single portfolio; he is the right person to lead Symantec as we advance our position as the leader in cybersecurity.
The Sunnyvale, Calif. Blue Coat had filed for its own initial public offering earlier this month. The company generated revenue of $598 million in its fiscal year ending April 30, 2016.
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