HP Brings in Aruba to Manage its Networking Business

HP agreed to acquire Aruba Networks for $24.67 per share in cash, reflecting an equity value of approximately $2.7 billion net of cash and debt.

Aruba, which is based in Sunnyvale, California, is a leading supplier of WLAN solutions for enterprises.  The company had revenues of $729 million in fiscal 2014, and has reported compound annual revenue growth of 30 percent over the last five years. It has approximately 1,800 employees.  Aruba has made rapid progress in 802.11ac Wi-Fi upgrades.  It offers integrated solutions for many vertical market segments, such as retail or healthcare.

HP said Aruba's marketing and channel model will complement its own networking business and go-to-market breadth.  Together, the companies will focus on next-generation converged campus solutions, leveraging the strong Aruba brand.  This new combined organization will be led by Aruba’s Chief Executive Officer Dominic Orr, and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer, Keerti Melkote, reporting to Antonio Neri, leader of HP Enterprise Group.  With this move, HP will be uniquely positioned to deliver both the innovation and global delivery and services offerings to meet customer needs worldwide.

“Enterprises are facing a mobile-first world and are looking for solutions that help them transition legacy investments to the new style of IT,” said Meg Whitman, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of HP.  “By combining Aruba’s world-class wireless mobility solutions with HP’s leading switching portfolio, HP will offer the simplest, most secure networking solutions to help enterprises easily deploy next-generation mobile networks.”

“Together with HP, we have a tremendous opportunity to become an even greater force in enterprise mobility and networking,” said Mr. Orr.  “This transaction brings together Aruba’s best-of-breed mobility hardware and software solutions with HP’s leading switching portfolio.  In addition, Aruba’s channel partners will have the opportunity to expand their businesses with HP offerings.  Together, we will build on Aruba’s proven ‘customer first, customer last’ culture, creating an innovative, agile networking leader ideally positioned to solve our customers’ most pressing mobility, security and networking challenges.”

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-news/press-release.html?id=1923193#.VPTvLvmjOM4
http://www.arubanetworks.com/