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VMware to acquire AirWatch

According to the agreement signed by both parties, VMware will acquire AirWatch, the enterprise mobile management and security solutions provider. The deal has been made for approximately $1.175B in cash and approximately $365M of installment payments and assumed unvested equity.

The AirWatch team will continue to report to Founder and CEO John Marshall as part of VMware’s End-User Computing group, led by Sanjay Poonen, EVP and GM. Alan Dabbiere, AirWatch’s Co-Founder and Chairman, will oversee a new AirWatch operating board, which will report to Pat Gelsinger, VMware CEO.

“AirWatch provides best-in-class, secure, enterprise-mobile management to thousands of businesses around the world,” said Pat Gelsinger, CEO, VMware.  “With this acquisition VMware will add a foundational element to our end-user computing portfolio that will enable our customers to turbo-charge their mobile workforce without compromising security.”

“When we started AirWatch, we set out to help businesses succeed in the mobile explosion that was set to come. Now there are more than 2 billion smart phones and tablets in the world and more than half of those devices touch an enterprise,” said Alan Dabbiere, Co-Founder and Chairman, AirWatch. “By joining a proven innovator like VMware, we now have an opportunity to bring our leading-edge solutions to an even broader set of customers and partners to help them optimise for the mobile-cloud world.”

According to Sanjay Poonen, EVP and GM of VMware’s End-User Computing group the company’s vision is to provide a secure virtual workspace that allows end users to work at the speed of life. He added, “The combination of AirWatch and VMware will enable us to deliver unprecedented value to our customers and partners across their desktop and mobile environments.”

This acquisition will expand VMware’s End-User Computing group; AirWatch’s offerings will form an expanded portfolio of mobile solutions that are complementary to VMware’s portfolio.  The acquisition has been approved by the boards of directors of both VMware and AirWatch and the acquisition is expected to close during late Q1 2014 subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The acquisition will be funded through a combination of balance sheet cash and proceeds from approximately $1B of additional debt to be provided by EMC. VMware will also continue with its ongoing share buyback programme.

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