VMware, the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, and AirWatch have signed a definitive agreement under which VMware will acquire AirWatch, the leading provider of enterprise mobile management and security solutions. The acquisition, which is approximately $1.175B in cash and approximately $365M of installment payments and assumed unvested equity, is said will provide customers with the most complete solution to manage users, devices and applications across desktop and mobile environments.
According to a statement by VMware, the acquisition will expand VMware's End-User Computing group and AirWatch's offerings will form an expanded portfolio of mobile solutions that provide enterprises a strategic platform to securely manage a rapidly growing set of mobile devices and an increasingly mobile workforce.
“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 optimize for the mobile-cloud world."
"Our vision is to provide a secure virtual workspace that allows end users to work at the speed of life," said Sanjay Poonen, EVP and GM of VMware's End-User Computing group. "The combination of AirWatch and VMware will enable us to deliver unprecedented value to our customers and partners across their desktop and mobile environments."