FireEye Inc. acquires Mandiant Corp. in a 1.05-billion-dollar deal

Cybersecurity company FireEye Inc. revealed it has acquired the computer forensics specialist company Mandiant Corp., which specializes in malware detection and incident response. The deal was finalized on December the 30th and is estimated to 1.05 billion dollars and its goal is to help FireEye Inc. consolidate providers of services that protect computer networks from spies and hackers.

This acquisition unambiguously emphasized on some quite generous valuations in the computer security business. In addition, the combined services of the companies are expected to lead to the discovery of compromised networks.

On a conference call, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FireEye – David DeWalt explained: “Its really a combination of people and products that make the difference in todays attack landscapes.” Mr. DeWalt also announced that the company planed to integrate Mandiant technology, which includes network sensors and malware signatures into products it sells to about 1,500 customers in 40 countries. The founder of Mandiant Corp. – Kevin Mandia – explained that he expected the merger to result in the discovery of compromised networks.

FireEye Inc., which is known for developing virtual machine-based security platform that provides enterprises and governments worldwide with protection against the next generation of cyber attacks, went public in 2013. The company has managed to achieve a market valuation of more than 5 billion dollars.

The acquisition of Mandiant Corp. is the second largest after the 2.7-billion-dollar deal of Cisco Systems Inc., which acquired the Columbia, Maryland-based Sourcefire Inc. in October last year. FireEye Inc. was invested in in 2009 by In-Q-Tel, which is a venture-capital company focused on suporting companies with emerging national-security technology. As reported by Bloomberg, In-Q-Tel raised 304 million dollars in an initial public offering that sold at above the marketed price range.

The FireEyes acquisition of Mandiant Corp. coincides with the debates of the President Barack Obama and Congress about limits on spying by the National Security Agency (NSA). The debates came after a huge scandal provoked by some documents, which leaked by former U.S. government contractor Edward Snowden. The information revealed that the National Security Agency tapped fibre-optic cables abroad to siphon data from Google Inc. and Yahoo! Inc., circumvented or cracked encryption, and gathered billions of records showing the locations of mobile phones around the world, as Bloomberg has reported.

According to CNN Money, the current share price of FireEye Inc. is 5.69% down, and its one-year return rate is 5.69% down. The 10 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for FireEye Inc. have a median target of 46.50, with a high estimate of 53.00 and a low estimate of 40.00. the median estimate represents a 13.06% increase from the last price of 41.13.