Cisco is making its most expensive acquisition ever – by far – with an announcement it’s buying data crunching software firm Splunk for $157 per share, or approximately $28 billion (£22.8b).
The transaction, which Cisco said it expects to close in calendar Q3 of 2024, was already unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, and once completed will see Splunk CEO Gary Steele join Cisco’s exec team as a direct report to Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins.
Cisco expects the cash transaction to be cash flow positive and to boost gross margins this year, and says it will add to the company’s earnings per share by next year. Splunk confirmed the sale in an SEC filing.
