HP Acquisition Train Keeps Rolling With ArcSight

Losing CEO Mark Hurd hasn't slowed down HP's acquisition momentum, as the tech powerhouse on Monday revealed plans to acquire security and compliance software provider ArcSight. The ArcSight purchase marks HP's second security-focused acquisition in less than a month.

The two companies have signed a definitive agreement that clocks in at roughly $1.5 billion, or $43.50 per share. The move will help HP grow its software and security portfolio and add real-time event monitoring, risk assessment and threat response to its arsenal.

Despite being without a new CEO, HP has made three major acquisitions since Hurd's departure. The ArcSight buy follows HP's bidding war with Dell for 3Par, which it ultimately won.

The ArcSight deal also signals the company is sharpening its security chops. Last month HP purchased Fortify Software, a San Mateo, Calif.-based security company that makes software that helps companies reduce business risk, meet compliance regulations and protect against malicious application attacks by integrating security assurance across the application life cycle. Now with ArcSight, HP adds the ability to improve security, reduce risk and facilitate compliance for customers by adding it to its roster of hardware, software and services.

In a statement, HP said the addition of ArcSight will enable it to offer broader visibility with a comprehensive view of all events across IT operations, security and compliance; deeper context through the ability to detect threats and ricks by correlating both activity and state changes in real time; and better continuity via a constant feedback loop between build, manage and monitor that ensures enterprises remain secure.

"From a security perspective, the perimeter of today's enterprise is porous, putting enormous pressure on clients' risk and compliance systems," said Bill Veghte, executive vice president, Software and Solutions, HP, in a statement. "The combination of HP and ArcSight will provide clients with the ability to fortify their applications, proactively monitor events and respond to threats."

ArcSight's president and CEO Tom Reilly added: "By combining ArcSight's Enterprise Threat and Risk Management Platform with HP's breadth of application development and operations management solutions, HP will be able to offer an integrated security platform that delivers broader visibility, deeper context and faster remediation of enterprise-wide security and risk-related events. In a world where perimeter security is no longer enough, businesses need this holistic approach to securing their networks, applications and sensitive data."

ArcSight, 3Par and Fortify mark HP's first three public acquisitions since the departure of former CEO Hurd, who left HP in August amid an unfounded sexual harassment probe and last week resurfaced as a co-president at Oracle. HP is still on the hunt for a replacement for Hurd.

The pair of security purchases also follows a multi-billion dollar acquisition hot streak for Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP. In April HP acquired struggling smartphone maker Palm to the tune of roughly $1.2 billion. Before that, in November, HP bought struggling networking player 3Com Corp. for a reported $2.7 billion.