August 17, 2007 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Access infrastructure solution provider Citrix Systems (citrix.com) announced on Wednesday that it has acquired open source virtualization solution provider XenSource (xensource.com) for $500 million.
Citrix says it bought XenSource because its customers had been asking for virtualization products and XenSource's assets included a 2006 agreement giving it access to a code that Microsoft had been working on for its own push into the virtualization sector. That product, which has been code named Viridian, is expected to be unveiled next year.
According to reports, Citrix has been working closely with Microsoft for years, prompting industry analysts to speculate that the acquisition could lay the groundwork for Microsoft to eventually buy Citrix. Hewlett-Packard and Cisco Systems have also been listed as interested parties.
The acquisition announcement followed XenSource rival, VMware's stock market debut, whose shares have nearly doubled from Monday's initial public offering price of $29. VMware shares climbed $6.71 to $57.71 Wednesday, leaving it with a market value of about $22-billion.
