Fortinet Inc, a maker of network-security systems, received a takeover approach from International Business Machines Corp (IBM), two people close to the situation said.
The discussions with IBM may be at an advanced stage, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks haven’t been made public. Fortinet is working with Morgan Stanley on its strategic options, the people said.
Fortinet, with a market value of US$2.14 billion, focuses on all-in-one systems that keep networks secure, and it caters to companies ranging from small businesses to large phone carriers. IBM CEO Sam Palmisano has said he plans to spend about US$20 billion on acquisitions in the next five years, adding tools to deliver cloud-computing services via the Internet, as well as software that helps customers analyze data.
IBM, the world’s largest provider of computer services, approached Fortinet six to eight weeks ago, according to one of the people. A deal could still come unraveled.
Ed Barbini, a spokesman for IBM, declined to comment, as did Rick Popko, a spokesman for Fortinet, and Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Mary Claire Delaney.
Fortinet, based in Sunnyvale, California, went public a year ago and its shares have gained 71 percent this year amid speculation that it might become an acquisition target.
It climbed as much as US$2.42, or 8.1 percent, to US$32.42 in extended trading on Friday. The shares had been unchanged at US$30 on the NASDAQ Stock Market. IBM, based in Armonk, New York, added US$2.70, or 1.9 percent, to US$143.60 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
Fortinet almost doubled net income to US$14 million in the third quarter from US$7.89 million a year earlier, as sales jumped 29 percent to US$85 million. The company raised US$156.3 million in its November initial public offering, the first by a Silicon Valley startup in almost two years. Its shares were priced at US$12.50 apiece.
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
RSS