Arbor to acquire Ellacoya Networks

Consolidation in security keeps on coming, with Arbor Networks stepping up to the plate with plans to acquire Ellacoya Networks.

Arbor, which announced a definitive agreement to acquire Ellacoya on Thursday, is looking to boost its network security and service offerings to Internet service providers.

While the combined company will maintain separate products lines, Arbor is aiming to infuse its network security monitoring and reporting capabilities into Ellacoya's platform and Ellacoya's deep packet inspection technologies will be mixed into Arbor's products. The end goal is dish up technology that can detect and address a range of network-based attacks from the core of an ISP's network to the edge of the broadband service.

"With the addition of the Ellacoya technology and customer base, Arbor Networks will be in a unique position to deliver both broad and deep visibility to protect and manage networks," Jack Boyle, Arbor's chief executive, said in a statement.

Arbor, which hopes to close the deal by the end of this month, is the latest player in the consolidation of the security industry, which has seen such whopper deals as IBM's $1.3 billion acquisition of Internet Security Systems and EMC's megamerger with RSA Security for nearly $2.1 billion.

Terms of the Arbor and Ellacoya deal were not disclosed. But it's safe to say the pending acquisition of privately held Ellacoya is far from a billion-dollar deal.