Latest M&A: AppSmart, Fortinet, Cisco, RingCentral

Distributors and cybersecurity companies featured prominently in recent acquisition news.

Ingram Micro came under new private equity leadership, while Palo Alto Networks made an $800 purchase to improve its platform.

The list was so packed that we had to leave out several stories. For example, the cybersecurity company Sectigo bought two companies that will deepen its footprint in Europe and Latin America. Managed data services provider Calligo announced tis fourth acquisition of 2020. Navisite bought a premier SAP gold partner.

Two U.K. companies that specialize in VoIP joined forces to help VARs sell more effectively. Broadvoice earned a minority investment. And Splunk bought a company that will bolster its observability platform.

And we dare not overlook Salesforce’s $27.7 billion purchase of Slack, which could put the combo in competition with Microsoft Teams.

The images and captions below summarize the top acquisitions of November and December.

Missed our previous M&A recap? We reported on the top transactions of October.

RingCentral

The UCaaS provider is improving its video meetings through an new acquisition.

RingCentral bought DeepAffects, which uses AI to provide conversational intelligence. It analyzes voices to gain insights into speakers' emotions and sentiments. RingCentral did not disclose the financial terms of the agreement.

Read all about the purchase, as well as a partnership RingCentral formed.

AppSmart

The B2B marketplace acquired yet another master agent.

AppSmart bought Georgia-based MicroCorp, citing "cultural alignment" and "innovative, proprietary technology" that both companies have built. AppSmart's past acquisitions include WTG, Telegration and CNSG.

Lynn Haber covered the acquisition.

Cisco

Cisco announced multiple acquisitions as 2020 waned.

The company in November bought Hungary-based Bonzai Cloud to further its work with Kubernetes-based applications. Then, in December, Cisco bought omnichannel messaging provider IMImobile and polling provider Slido. These purchases will complement Cisco's WebEx and CCaaS solutions.

Jeffrey Schwartz wrote about the IMImobile and Slido purchases for Channel Futures.

Ingram Micro

The distributor now belongs to a private equity firm.

Tom Gores' Platinum Equity bought Ingram for a whopping $7.2 billion. The firm bought Ingram from HNA Group, which bought the distributor for $6 billion in 2016.

Read about the transaction.

Synnex

Another distributor made M&A news last month.

Synnex spun off its subsidiary Concentrix into a separate publicly traded company. As a result, the companies can operate with a tighter managerial focus.

Concentrix provides business services in 10 different industries. Synnex bought Concentrix back in 2006 and later combined it with IBM’s worldwide customer care business process outsourcing (BPO) service.

Get details about the spinoff.

Bridgepointe Technologies

The California-based master agent bought a peer from the other side of the country.

Bridgepointe Technologies bought Clover Communications, which resides in New Jersey. The transaction bolsters Bridgepointe's Northeast footprint and brings together two similar cultures.

“Joining forces with Bridgepointe gives us the additional resources we need to scale and meet the ever-growing needs of our customers and partners," Clover's president said.

Learn about the benefits of the acquisition.

Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks bought an automated attack surface management provider.

The company's $800 million acquisition of Expanse bolsters its lead generation and Cortex continuous security operations platform. Expanse helps chief information security officers (CISOs) view their organization from an outside perspective.

Edward Gately has the scoop. 

Viasat

The business satellite internet provider is getting into the energy market as a result of its RigNet purchase.

RigNet, which Viasat is buying for $222 million, provides networking solutions and specialized applications for several industries, including industry, maritime and mining. RigNet will join Viasat's global enterprise and mobility unit.

Check out the article.

ConnectWise

The IT management solutions provider announced the acquisition of two companies that will bolster its cybersecurity chops.

Perch Security and StratoZen joined ConnectWise for an undisclosed amount. Perch provides security information and event monitoring (SIEM), and StratoZen provides automation and data analysis. Both companies serve SMB customers and tout their MSP-oriented natures.

Allison Francis wrote about ConnectWise.

Fortinet

The cybersecurity provider bought a network monitoring and diagnostics platform.

Panopta, the acquired company, provides visibility into the health of the enterprise network. According to Fortinet, MSSPs and VARs can integrate the "partner-friendly" solution into their offerings.

“With the convergence of security and networking through a security-driven network approach, organizations can get the connectivity and performance that are crucial to protect today’s hyperconnected businesses," Fortinet's CEO said.

Read about why Fortinet made the purchase. 

FireEye

We wrote about another cybersecurity acquisition.

FireEye snagged cybersecurity investigation automation company Respond Software for $186 million. FireEye executives said the company can sell extended detection and response (XDR) to additional clients as a result.

The news came at the same time as the announcement of a $400 million strategic investment from Blackstone Tactical Opportunities. 

Read about the transaction on Channel Futures.