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SurfControl catches BlackSpider
Consolidation continues, £19m changes hands...

By Will Sturgeon

Published: Thursday 13 July 2006

SurfControl has snapped up email and web security company BlackSpider in a further sign of continuing consolidation in the security space.

The deal, sealed with a £19.95m cash payment, marks the coming together of two established UK players in the global security market, although SurfControl has done much in the past year to establish a greater US focus.

The BlackSpider acquisition enables SurfControl to bolt on a managed security service to its offering. Patricia Sueltz, CEO of SurfControl, said the ability to offer protection "in the cloud as well as within the network" was a major factor behind the decision.

Such services, as offered by the likes of BlackSpider and UK rival MessageLabs, have gained serious ground over on-premise offerings in the last two years, with promises of lower total cost of ownership and fewer management headaches. But Jay Heiser, research VP at Gartner, told silicon.com it's also an area where this kind of consolidation has become inevitable.

Heiser said: "It has been clear for several years that this product area was ripening for a market consolidation. It has become a commodity, making it increasingly difficult for small vendors to differentiate their product from the growing number of large competitors.

"This is a deal that makes sense for SurfControl. BlackSpider has a well-regarded product and an existing set of customers. Given the evolution of this market, the normal growth path for a firm like SurfControl would be through acquisitions."

As such, Heiser said the deal "comes as no surprise".

The only surprise for some may be the value of the deal for a company that boasts an impressive list of customers.

Heiser told silicon.com: "Without knowing the revenue stream accruing from their customer base, I'm hesitant to pass judgment on the sell price. I will say that it suggests to me that if SurfControl had not taken the opportunity to snap them up, one of their competitors would have."

The deal also sees SurfControl assume £1.2m of BlackSpider's debts.