Blue Coat tries on Packeteer

WAN optimisation vendor Packeteer has been acquired by security content vendor Blue Coat Systems in a deal worth about $268m (£135m).

Blue Coat indicated that it hopes the acquisition will enable it to grab a bigger slice of the WAN optimisation market and will incorporate Packeteer technologies into Blue Coat's ProxySG line of appliances. It also hopes to sell increased volumes into both vendors' partner bases.

The deal is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of this year, after which Packeteer will merge with a Blue Coat subsidiary. The acquisition is being funded by a warchest of available cash and $80m in convertible notes financing.

Blue Coat president Brian NeSmith said: “WAN optimisation is the starting point for adding the next layer of intelligence to the corporate network. The acquisition of Packeteer will enable us to extend our leadership in solving branch office application performance challenges and addressing security threats by adding an extensive, experienced sales channel, integrating our sales organisations and by reinvigorating the well-regarded PacketShaper product and adding it to our solution set.

"At the same time, we will begin to aggressively integrate Packeteer technologies with our own to continue building the next critical layer above the router.”

Hedge fund Elliott Associates made an approach to buy Packeteer for $200m last month (CRN Online, 5 March) and addressed an open letter to the vendor's board criticising it for the company's falling stock price and what it identified as poor performance in competing with the vendor's rivals.

The offer was rejected and Packeteer indicated it was hoping for a more lucrative offer that could exploit the "synergy value that may be obtained from a strategic combination".

Packeteer president Dave Côté said: "Blue Coat has a proven history of efficiently and effectively integrating technologies and organisations and can expeditiously add valuable Packeteer assets to Blue Coat solutions and operations upon closing the transaction.

"We believe our customers and channel partners all benefit from this move which results in having a more comprehensive solution for solving the application delivery challenges through advanced application discovery and the intelligent prioritisation, security and control of business traffic across the WAN.”