Sophos to Acquire Astaro -- Unified Threat Management

Sophos agreed to acquire Astaro, a privately held provider of network security solutions, for an undisclosed sum.



Astaro, headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany and Wilmington, Massachusetts, supplies a line of unified threat management appliances for small and medium-sized businesses. The company had 56 million in billings and 30% year over year growth in 2010, and claims to be the fourth largest dedicated unified threat management (UTM) provider.



Sophos offers encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. The company is based in Boston and Oxford, England.



"The combination of Astaro's comprehensive portfolio of network security solutions alongside our endpoint, mobile, and email and web threat and data protection capabilities will enable us to continue to deliver on our vision of providing complete security without complexity wherever the user and company data resides," stated Steve Munford, Chief Executive Officer, Sophos.



"Demand for network security solutions with more comprehensive and high-quality protection is accelerating fast, and yet companies are struggling with the complexity of multiple security solutions to serve these needs," stated Jan Hichert, Chief Executive Officer, Astaro. "We are excited to join forces with Sophos, as we share a common mission and passion for providing the most comprehensive security solutions that are also easy to use. Together, we will deliver to customers the ability to apply consistent security and web and application controls regardless of where the user is or where the network boundary may lie."http://www.sophos.com http://www.astaro.com