Cisco Systems' $28 billion acquisition of Splunk 'went much faster than we thought'

By Jon Swartz

Company is enhancing its software business and striving to offset a postpandemic slowdown in demand

Cisco Systems Inc. on Monday completed its $28 billion acquisition of Splunk Inc. "much faster than we thought," Cisco Chief Financial Officer Scott Herren said in an interview.

"It is a testament to good work by both companies and nice synergies with not a lot of overlap," Herren said. The deal was announced in September.

Cisco said Splunk's (SPLK) security capabilities, combined with Cisco's (CSCO) scale network and security, "will provide leading security analytics and coverage from devices to applications to clouds," Cisco Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins said in a statement. The joint collaboration, he said, "will drive the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability."

Last week, Cisco won unconditional European Union antitrust approval for the deal, the company's biggest ever, as it enhances its software business during a boom in artificial intelligence and strives to offset a postpandemic slowdown in demand.

-Jon Swartz

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03-18-24 1123ET

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