March 17, 2008 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Enterprise software provider BMC Software (bmc.com) announced on Monday it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire data center automation provider BladeLogic (bladelogic.com) for $28 in cash per outstanding share of BladeLogic common stock, or a total of approximately $800 million.
Once the acquisition is completed, it will bring a significant, high-growth revenue flow to BMC. As a result, BMC will be able to boost its long-term growth expectations for revenues, earnings and cash flow.
“BMC’s acquisition of BladeLogic will create the new IT service automation leader, unique in its ability to provide these critical capabilities,” says Bob Beauchamp, BMC president and CEO. “It is a natural and very significant next step in our vision of business service management.”
The acquisition comes at a time when many leading management vendors and data center management providers are seeking to acquire the latest server technology for the purpose of building into their equipment. Last fall, Hewlett-Packard acquired data center automation provider Opsware for a whopping $1.6 billion.
BladeLogic has experienced an enormous growth since it launched in 2001 as an automated server provisioning software company, focusing on distributing blade configurations on a one-to-many basis. The company now has more than 70 customers and is expected to deliver $90 million in revenue for fiscal 2008, according to global market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (idc.com).
BMC and BladeLogic’s solution portfolios have already been integrated, and the companies will soon combine BMC’s business service management platform with BladeLogic’s data center automation solutions. The move to combine the solutions remains consistent with BMC’s strategy to maintain the “purpose built” capabilities of each company’s products.
Last October, the company acquired Emprisa Networks, a provider of smart network compliance, change and configuration management and automation solutions.
