Symantec To Acquire Blue Coat For $4.65B, Names Blue Coat Leader As CEO

Symantec is finally fulfilling the acquisition promises the company made when it became a standalone security vendor earlier this year, announcing late Sunday night that it intends to acquire Blue Coat Systems for $4.65 billion.

As part of the deal, Blue Coat CEO Greg Clark will assume the role of CEO at Symantec, filling a vacancy left by the announcement in April that current CEO Mike Brown would be stepping down as soon as a successor was found. Clark will assume the role when the transaction closes, expected in the third calendar quarter of 2016.

Blue Coat is currently owned by Bain Capital, which acquired it in March 2015 for $2.4 billion. As part of the acquisition, Bain will reinvest $750 million in the combined company and Managing Director David Humphrey will join the board of directors. Symantec strategic investor Silver Lake will also double its investment to $1 billion, the company said.

[Related: Symantec Partners Hope New CEO Will Kick-Start Next Phase Of Transformation]

The acquisition comes just a week after Blue Coat filed to take the company public once again. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company was looking to raise $100 million, money it said would help it make product investments and pay off $1.8 billion in debt.

When Symantec split from storage management technology company Veritas earlier this year, establishing itself as a standalone security vendor, outgoing CEO Brown said the Mountain View, Calif.-based vendor would "definitely" be on the market to make acquisitions. He said those acquisitions would be in the areas of threat protection, information protection and cybersecurity services.

The acquisition of Blue Coat propels Symantec forward, particularly in the area of threat protection, bringing a wide range of cloud and web security software into its portfolio. Chairman Dan Schulman said in a statement that the acquisition will "usher in a new era of innovation" at Symantec.

"Together, we will be best positioned to address the ever-evolving threat landscape, the massive changes introduced by the shift to mobile and cloud, and the challenges created by regulatory and privacy concerns," Schulman said. Schulman will remain as Chairman of the company after the transaction is complete, the company said.

Incoming CEO Clark said in a statement that the combined companies will bring together the cloud security and web protection capabilities from Blue Coat with Symantec's wide portfolio of threat protection, information protection and managed services. Clark said this will offer "unrivaled threat protection and unmatched cloud security."

"With employees of Blue Coat and Symantec coming together, we will be well positioned to drive meaningful growth and push the boundaries of innovation. I am very excited about the opportunity to join Symantec as CEO and look forward to working with the strongest, deepest team in security to realize the many strategic and financial benefits this transaction will create," Clark said in a statement.

The combined company, which will be headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., will have an anticipated $4.4 billion in revenue in fiscal 2016. Symantec said it expects to achieve an additional $150 million in cost savings after the deal closes, adding to the $400 million in cost savings it looked to achieve in the next two years. CFO Thomas Seifert said the acquisition will help Symantec "improve our profitability" and continue to "invest in innovation" and "drive growth."

The deal is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2016, pending regulatory approvals and closing conditions.