Cyberattack defender FireEye has acquired endpoint security player Mandiant in a deal worth more than US$1bn. The aim is to create the world’s leading threat-detection player capable of stopping attacks at every stage of the attack cycle.
FireEye pioneered the use of virtual machine technology in security with the introduction of its purpose-built virtual machine-based Multi-Vector Virtual Execution (MVX) engine. With more than 2m virtual machines deployed worldwide, the company’s virtual machine-based web, email, data centre, and mobile security solutions provide real-time threat protection to more than 1,500 government, enterprise, and small and mid-sized customers.
Mandiant is an acknowledged leader in endpoint security, incident response, and remediation, with more than 2m endpoints installed globally.
A year ago, Mandiant revealed plans to create 100 new security jobs in Dublin with the establishment of an engineering and security operations centre in the city.
Last May it emerged up to 150 new jobs will be created in Cork FireEye, which is establishing its EMEA technical support centre in the city. The new EMEA technical support centre will be a strategic centre for FireEye and will have a central role in supporting international growth.
One security network to protect them all
“Organisations today are faced with knitting together a patchwork of point products and services to protect their assets from advanced threats,” said David DeWalt, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of FireEye.
“Together, the size and global reach of FireEye and Mandiant will enable us to innovate faster, create a more comprehensive solution, and deliver it to organisations around the world at a pace that is unmatched by other security vendors.”
Shareholders of Mandiant and the boards of directors of both companies have approved the acquisition.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, FireEye will issue an aggregate of 21.5m shares and options to purchase shares of FireEye stock and pay about US$106.5m of net cash in the transaction to the former Mandiant security holders.
Security framework image via Shutterstock
