SHARE
Facebook X Pinterest WhatsApp

Fortinet Says IBM Acquisition Talk Untrue

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) – Network security company Fortinet Inc (NASDAQ:FTNT) denied a news report it was in talks to be bought by International Business Machines Corp (NYSE:IBM). Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources, that IBM was in advanced talks to buy Fortinet and that Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was advising Fortinet. Fortinet said […]

Nov 1, 2010
Channel Insider content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) – Network security company Fortinet Inc (NASDAQ:FTNT) denied a news report it was in talks to be bought by International Business Machines Corp (NYSE:IBM).

Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources, that IBM was in advanced talks to buy Fortinet and that Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was advising Fortinet.

Fortinet said on Monday that "investors need to be aware of the error," adding it was focused on building a strong and independent company. It also asked Bloomberg to retract or correct the report, the company said. IBM declined to comment.

Fortinet shares closed up 6.27 percent at $31.88, despite the denial, showing investors believed the company was still an attractive acquisition target. Earlier, they rose as high as $36.77.

Bankers and analysts have said there are likely to be more acquisitions in the security industry, with large technology vendors eager to add security software to their product lineup.

Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) paved the way in August with a $7.7 billion deal to buy U.S. security software company McAfee Inc (NYSE:MFE), while a month later, Hewlett-Packard Co (NYSE:HPQ) agreed to buy cyber-security vendor ArcSight Inc (ARST.DE) for $1.5 billion. (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; editing by Richard Chang and Andre Grenon)

Recommended for you...

SailPoint Intros Accelerated Application Management Solution
Jordan Smith
Aug 22, 2025
ConnectWise Partners with Proofpoint on Security in Asio
Jordan Smith
Aug 22, 2025
RegScale CRO on Channel Growth in Risk & Compliance
Victoria Durgin
Aug 22, 2025
Sherweb Expanding Portfolio Offerings With Expert Guidance
Jordan Smith
Aug 15, 2025
Channel Insider Logo

Channel Insider combines news and technology recommendations to keep channel partners, value-added resellers, IT solution providers, MSPs, and SaaS providers informed on the changing IT landscape. These resources provide product comparisons, in-depth analysis of vendors, and interviews with subject matter experts to provide vendors with critical information for their operations.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.