- Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT -1.4%) is acquiring Meru Networks (MERU +16%), a provider of enterprise Wi-Fi access points, controllers, and management software, for $44M in cash, or $1.63/share. The price represents a 17% premium to Meru's Tuesday close, and is equal to just 0.54x Meru's 2015 sales consensus of $81.3M.
- Fortinet, which already offers Wi-Fi access points and integrated Wi-Fi/security appliances, declares the deal "expands its opportunity to uniquely address the $5B global enterprise Wi-Fi market with integrated and intelligent secure wireless solutions." It also notes Meru's product line includes cloud/virtual Wi-Fi controllers (eliminates the need for dedicated hardware), and SDN-capable management and provisioning software.
- The deal is expected to close in Q3. Meru has been struggling to deal with competition from larger rivals such as Cisco and HP/Aruba Networks. The company announced a strategic review in January.
- Separately, Fortinet has launched FortiGuard Mobile, a subscription service that aims to protect phones/tablets from cyber threats, and which integrates with Fortinet's mainstay ForiGate unified threat management (UTM) appliances. Palo Alto Networks recently partnered with VMware to offer its own mobile security solutions.