Netgear To Acquire Security Vendor CP Secure

Networking vendor Netgear said Monday it will acquire integrated security company CP Secure. Cupertino, Calif.-based CP Secure, which has offices in Nanjing, China, offers network protection, Web filtering and email security.

Netgear said it plans to release a full line of its ProSecure security appliances for Web, email and unified threat management incorporating CP Secure's platform within the next 12 months.

Netgear, of San Jose, Calif., will pay a total of $17.5 million for CP Secure. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2008. CP Secure's Chief Executive Officer, Shuang Ji, will become Netgear's vice president of engineering for security products.

"CP Secure's offerings complement our current network security offerings, which include the Netgear ProSafe Wired and Wireless VPN Firewalls and Secure-Socket-Layer (SSL) VPN Concentrator," said Patrick Lo, chairman and CEO of Netgear, in a statement.

"By leveraging Netgear's leading brand name and global distribution channel and supply chain relationships, we believe we will be able to offer CP Secure's enterprise-level security features to SMBs who are exposed to the same security threats as enterprises, and can and should expect the same degree of comprehensive network protection," Shuang Ji, CEO of CP Secure, said in a statrement.