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January 25, 2017

Cisco puts a stop to Appdynamics IPO, buying software startup for $3.7bn

Appdynamics never made it to unicorn status, with Cisco putting down billions to halt its planned IPO.

By Joe Clark

Cisco has agreed the acquisition of Appdynamics for the sum of $3.7 billion.

On Tuesday 24, it was announced that Cisco Systems, the largest networking company in the world, would acquire Appdynamics, the application performance management (APM) company, one day ahead of its planned IPO.

The move comes after a slew of acquistions by Cisco Chief Executive Office Chuck Robbins, who has overseen the purchase of 17 other companies since he took over as boss in 2017.  This buying campaign marks an increased effort to generate new revenue which has been slowly falling as companies move away from the hardware and adopt cloud.

READ: Cisco to buy IoT startup Jasper Technologies for $1.4bn

Appdynamcis’ IPO was initially scheduled for Wednesday 25, with the IPO one of the most hotly anticipated of 2017. Unicorn expectations were high, with an estimated value of $1.7 billion based on $14 per share. Cisco’s $3.7 billion offer is almost double that estimate and much higher than the $1.9 billion valued in 2015.

This latest acquisition marks Cisco’s largest since the 2013 purchase of  Source fire for $2.7 billion.

“The combination of Cisco and AppDynamics will allow us to provide end to end visibility and intelligence from the network through to the application; which, combined with security and scale, and help IT to drive a new level of business results,” said Rowan Trollope, Cisco senior vice president and general manager of Cisco’s Internet of Things and Applications Business Group.

 

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Appdynamics was founded in 2008 and currently boasts almost 2000 customers, 275 of which are in the Global 2000. The San Fransisco based APM company produced over $150 million in 2016, up 50% from the previous year.

“AppDynamics is empowering companies to build and successfully run the applications they need to compete in today’s digital world,” said David Wadhwani, AppDynamics CEO and president.

“With digital transformation, companies must re-define their relationships with customers through software. We’re excited to join Cisco, as it will enable us to help more companies around the globe.”

Following the acquisition, Appdynamics will join Jasper in Cisco’s division of Internet of Things and Applications Unit.

The sale will be a mixture of cash and equity, and is expected to be finalised by April.

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