VMware to Acquire AirWatch

1/23/2014
VMware, Inc. and AirWatch have announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which VMware will acquire AirWatch, the leading provider of enterprise mobile management and security solutions. VMware will acquire AirWatch for approximately $1.175B in cash and approximately $365M of installment payments and assumed unvested equity. The AirWatch team will continue to report to founder and chief executive officer John Marshall as part of VMware’s End-User Computing group, led by Sanjay Poonen, EVP and GM. Alan Dabbiere, AirWatch’s co-founder and chairman, will be overseeing a new AirWatch operating board which will report to Pat Gelsinger, VMware chief executive officer.
 
“AirWatch provides best-in-class, secure, enterprise-mobile management to thousands of businesses around the world,” said Pat Gelsinger, chief executive officer, VMware.  “With this acquisition VMware will add a foundational element to our end-user computing portfolio that will enable our customers to turbo-charge their mobile workforce without compromising security.”
 
“When we started AirWatch, we set out to help businesses succeed in the mobile explosion that was set to come. Now there are more than 2 billion smart phones and tablets in the world and more than half of those devices touch an enterprise,” said Alan Dabbiere, co-founder and chairman, AirWatch. “By joining a proven innovator like VMware, we now have an opportunity to bring our leading-edge solutions to an even broader set of customers and partners to help them optimize for the mobile-cloud world.”
 
Privately held and headquartered in Atlanta, GA, AirWatch is the leading provider of enterprise solutions for Mobile Device Management, Mobile Application Management and Mobile Content Management.  With more than 10,000 customers globally and more than 1,600 employees across nine global offices, AirWatch’s solutions give enterprises a strategic platform to securely manage a rapidly growing set of mobile devices and an increasingly mobile workforce. The Atlanta site is expected to expand and be the center of VMware’s mobile operations.
 
“Our vision is to provide a secure virtual workspace that allows end users to work at the speed of life,” said Sanjay Poonen, EVP and GM of VMware’s End-User Computing group.  “The combination of AirWatch and VMware will enable us to deliver unprecedented value to our customers and partners across their desktop and mobile environments.”
 
This acquisition will expand VMware’s End-User Computing group; AirWatch’s offerings will form an expanded portfolio of mobile solutions that are complementary to VMware’s portfolio.  The acquisition has been approved by the boards of directors of both VMware and AirWatch and the acquisition is expected to close during late Q1 2014 subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The acquisition will be funded through a combination of balance sheet cash and proceeds from approximately $1B of additional debt to be provided by EMC. VMware will also continue with its ongoing share buyback program.
 
Preliminary Q4 2013 Results
VMware today also announced preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter of 2013:
 
Revenues for the fourth quarter are expected to be $1.48 billion, an increase of 15% from the fourth quarter of 2012. Excluding revenues attributable to Pivotal Software Inc. and all divestitures that occurred in 2013, revenues for the fourth quarter are expected to have increased 20% from the fourth quarter of 2012.1 “I’m delighted with our overall Q4 performance, with total revenue expected to exceed the high end of our guidance range,” said Jonathan Chadwick, chief financial officer and executive vice president, VMware.
 
License revenues for the fourth quarter are expected to be $687 million, an increase of 15% from the fourth quarter of 2012. Excluding revenues attributable to Pivotal Software Inc. and all divestitures that occurred in 2013, license revenues for the fourth quarter are expected to have increased 18% from the fourth quarter of 2012.1
 
Non-GAAP operating margin for the fourth quarter is expected to be 35.6%. GAAP operating margin for the fourth quarter is expected to be 25.2%.
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