Channel speculation is growing that security vendor WatchGuard could be set to tie up a deal to acquire email security specialist BorderWare.

Privately held WatchGuard was founded in 1996 and acquired for $151m by private equity firm Francisco Partners in 2006. Revenue for 2005 was $75m (£44m) and the Seattle-based firm claims to have been profitable in each of the past four quarters.

Canadian firm BorderWare's international headquarters are located in West Drayton in Middlesex. The vendor's flagship BorderWare Security Platform is an email and web security appliance.

Channel hearsay suggests a deal between the two firms could be announced early next week. Follow Channelweb for all developments.