Continuing to reinforce security through acquisition, Juniper today said it will pay $122 million for privately held Funk
Software.
Funk’s products block Trojans, viruses, worms and other threats from
penetrating enterprises by requiring users and devices to meet an
organization’s policies before accessing corporate networks.
The combined offering will be industry standard-based, so it will work with
enterprise security products from other vendors, such as RSA Security .
“We are committed to open standards,” Hitesh Sheth, Juniper’s vice president
of enterprise products and solutions, told reporters and analysts in a
conference call. “The combined solution will not be proprietary.”
The Funk buy is expected to close next month pending regulatory
approval. When it does, the Cambridge, Mass., company’s 140 employees are
expected to join Juniper.
Paul Funk, who founded the company in 1982 and serves as its president, will
join Sunnyvale, Calif.’s Juniper as a senior executive in the security
group.
Juniper CFO Robert Dykes said Funk Software has been grossing $5 million to
$7 million per quarter; however that figure will likely tail off during the
integration process.
“We’re not buying this company for its revenue,” Dykes said. “We’re adding
some very important technology.”
Juniper, and primary rival Cisco , have been
snapping up security firms in recent years to meet enterprise customer
demand.
Corporations want to increase productivity by allowing workers to use laptops
and PDAs in airports and hotels, but are wary of opening the door to
threats that could hobble systems or expose sensitive data.
Juniper’s biggest splash in the security area was its $4 billion buy of NetScreen Technologies in February 2004. The pickup gave Juniper
a line of security and access products and bolsters its enterprise client roster.
The deal is one of two major acquisitions involving the enterprise
networking space today. Enterasys Networks said it will
be acquired by The Gores Group and Tennenbaum Capital Partners for $386
million.
