Cisco to Acquire Splunk

Cisco and Splunk announced a definitive agreement under which Cisco intends to acquire Splunk for $157 per share in cash, representing approximately $28 billion in equity value. Upon close of the acquisition, Splunk President and CEO, Gary Steele will join Cisco’s Executive Leadership Team reporting to Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins.

The acquisition builds on Splunk’s heritage of helping organisations enhance their digital resilience and will accelerate Cisco’s strategy to securely connect everything to make anything possible. The combination of these two established leaders in AI, security and observability will help make organisations more secure and resilient.

“We’re excited to bring Cisco and Splunk together. Our combined capabilities will drive the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability,” said Chuck Robbins, chair and CEO of Cisco. “From threat detection and response to threat prediction and prevention, we will help make organisations of all sizes more secure and resilient.”

“Uniting with Cisco represents the next phase of Splunk’s growth journey, accelerating our mission to help organisations 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. We’re thrilled to join forces with a long-time and trusted partner that shares our passion for innovation and world-class customer experience, and we expect our community of Splunk employees will benefit from even greater opportunities as we bring together two respected and purpose-driven organisations,” Steele added.

In today’s hyperconnected world, data is everywhere, with every organisation relying on it to run their business and make mission-critical decisions every day. Factoring in the acceleration and adoption of generative AI, expanding threat surfaces, and multiple cloud environments, it creates a level of complexity that is unlike anything organisations have faced. Organisations need a better way to manage, protect, and unlock data’s true value and stay digitally resilient.

Together, Cisco and Splunk will address these challenges head on.

The combination of these two established leaders with complementary capabilities in AI, security and observability will unlock the true value of data and will help make organisations of all sizes more secure and digitally resilient.

Specifically, Splunk’s security capabilities complement Cisco’s existing portfolio, and together, will provide leading security analytics and coverage from devices to applications to clouds.

Cisco and Splunk’s complementary capabilities will provide observability across hybrid and multi-cloud environments enabling the company’s customers to deliver smooth application experiences that power their digital businesses. Cisco and Splunk are well positioned to help customers responsibly harness the power of AI given their substantial scale, visibility into data, and foundation of trust.

The union of these two organisations will allow for greater investments in new solutions, accelerated innovation, and increased global scale to support the needs of customers of all sizes.

Cisco’s acquisition of Splunk will also build upon both companies’ reputations for being purpose-driven with similar values, strong cultures, and incredibly talented teams. The acquisition will unite two “Great Places to Work” with a shared passion for innovation and inclusion and will remain a great place to work and the premier place for software talent.

Transaction Details

Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco intends to acquire Splunk for $157 per share in cash, representing approximately $28 billion in equity value. The transaction is expected to be cash flow positive and gross margin accretive in the first fiscal year post close, and non-GAAP EPS accretive in year two. Additionally, it will accelerate Cisco’s revenue growth and gross margin expansion.

The transaction will not impact Cisco’s previously announced share buyback programme or dividend programme.

The acquisition has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Cisco and Splunk. It is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of calendar year 2024, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions including approval by Splunk shareholders.

For further information regarding all terms and conditions contained in the definitive agreement, please see Cisco’s Current Report on Form 8-K, which will be filed in connection with the transaction.

Advisors

Tidal Partners LLC is acting as financial advisor to Cisco, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as legal counsel, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is acting as regulatory counsel. Qatalyst Partners and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are acting as financial advisors to Splunk and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is acting as legal counsel.