HP said in September that it entered into a definitive agreement to buy ArcSight for $1.5 billion, or around $43.50 a share -- a figure 8.3 times the company's run rate, valued at $181 million in its last fiscal year. Executives at both companies contend that the marriage was designed to build specific security technologies -- such as network access, access control, change and configuration management -- into HP's applications, while giving the company the ability to evaluate threats in deeper context.
In general, ArcSight partners were optimistic, maintaining that the acquisition would give the company the necessary global reach and visibility that it previously lacked.
ArcSight had said the previous month that it was putting itself up for bid, and contenders came down to a handful of enterprise organizations, reportedly including IBM, SAP and Oracle.
