After months of speculation that intensified very early today, Dell Software has been acquired by Francisco Partners and Elliott Management Corp. The Dell Software business -- including Quest Software and SonicWall -- has more than 180,000 customers, according to Francisco Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The Dell Software portfolio includes analytics, database management, data protection, endpoint systems management, identity and access management, Microsoft platform management, network security, and performance monitoring. It sounds like John Swainson, president of Dell Software, will continue to run the business -- though ChannelE2E has not confirmed that item, nor have we confirmed the business's name going forward.
Security experts and channel partners also are watching closely to see if the SonicWall business eventually merges with WatchGuard, another security company in Francisco Partners' portfolio.
Dell has shed multiple businesses to strengthen the company's balance sheet ahead of the pending EMC Corp. buyout. Dell's $67 billion acquisition of EMC faces an EMC shareholder vote in July, and the official business combination is expected to arrive later this year.
