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Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Palo Alto Networks Announces Agreement to Acquire CyberArk, the Identity Security Leader
Will Create the End-to-End Security Platform for the AI Era NEWS SUMMARY: Will accelerate Palo Alto Networks' platform strategy by establishing Identity Security as a new core platform. CyberArk extends Identity Security to all users by advancing the vision that every identity, human, machine and AI requires deep security for access across the modern enterprise. Will deliver Identity Security for agentic AI to secure the new wave of autonomous AI agents by providing foundational controls for this emerging class of privileged identities. Will provide customers with the optimal combination of best of breed technology and integrated platforms to deliver near real-time security outcomes. SANTA CLARA, Calif. and NEWTON, Mass., July 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Palo Alto Networks® (NASDAQ: PANW), the global cybersecurity leader, and CyberArk (NASDAQ: CYBR), the global leader in Identity Security, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Palo Alto Networks will acquire CyberArk. Under the terms of the agreement, CyberArk shareholders will receive $45.00 in cash and 2.2005 shares of Palo Alto Networks common stock for each CyberArk share. This represents an equity value of approximately $25 billion for CyberArk and a 26% premium to the unaffected 10-day average of the daily VWAPs of CyberArk as of Friday, July 25, 20251. This strategic combination will mark Palo Alto Networks' formal entry into Identity Security, establishing it as a core pillar of the company's multi-platform strategy. Combining CyberArk's long-standing leadership in Identity Security and Privileged Access Management (PAM) with Palo Alto Networks' comprehensive AI-powered security platforms will extend privileged identity protection to all identity types including human, machine, and the new wave of autonomous AI agents. CyberArk is already establishing itself as an Identity Security platform, and Palo Alto Networks will help accelerate this journey towards platformization to drive better combined security outcomes for customers. Nikesh Arora, Chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, said: "Our market entry strategy has always been to enter categories at their inflection point, and we believe that moment for Identity Security is now. This strategy has guided our evolution from a next-gen firewall company into a multi-platform cybersecurity leader. Today, the rise of AI and the explosion of machine identities have made it clear that the future of security must be built on the vision that every identity requires the right level of privilege controls, not the 'IAM fallacy'. CyberArk is the definitive leader in Identity Security with durable, foundational technology that is essential for securing the AI era. Together, we will define the next chapter of cybersecurity." Udi Mokady, Founder and Executive Chairman of CyberArk, said:"This is a profound moment in CyberArk's journey. From the beginning, we set out to protect the world's most critical assets, with a relentless focus on innovation, trust, and security. Joining forces with Palo Alto Networks is a powerful next chapter, built on shared values and a deep commitment to solving the toughest identity challenges. Together, we'll bring unmatched expertise across human and machine identities, privileged access, and AI-driven innovation to secure what's next. This is more than a combination of technologies—it's an acceleration of the mission we began over two decades ago. I'm incredibly proud of what our team has built and deeply grateful to everyone who made this milestone possible." Identity and security are converging, highlighting the need for a true Identity Security platform. Securing privileged credentials for both human and machine identities—including AI agents and workloads—is the most critical challenge for the modern enterprise. The integration of CyberArk's Identity Security Platform with Palo Alto Networks will provide many critical benefits: Accelerates the Platform Strategy: The combined platform will provide a single, unified solution designed to help eliminate dangerous security gaps and simplify operations. CyberArk's capabilities will be deeply integrated into Palo Alto Networks' Strata™ and Cortex® platforms, leveraging AI to deliver identity-aware security and real-time response across the entire enterprise. Disrupts the Legacy IAM Market: This will evolve the legacy IAM market by moving beyond basic hygiene and extending robust, security-first PAM principles to ensure the right level of privilege controls are applied to every identity across the enterprise, whether humans, machines, or agents. Secures Agentic AI: As organizations adopt autonomous Agentic AI, they are deploying the ultimate privileged users. Identity Security is positioned to become the essential framework for securing this new paradigm of the enterprise workforce. Enforcing just-in-time access and least privilege principles ensures that AI agents are granted only the permissions they need, for the exact moment they need them, providing the critical oversight necessary to secure AI-driven automation at scale. Once closed, this acquisition will unite two security leaders with similar values, strong cultures, and talented teams. The combination of the two organizations will offer the industry's most comprehensive and integrated security portfolio, providing customers with a single, trusted vendor for their most critical security needs. The combined companies will become the cyber guardian of our customers, allowing customers to focus on their core business objectives and adopting AI, while we secure their digital future. Transaction DetailsUnder the terms of the agreement, Palo Alto Networks intends to acquire CyberArk for $45.00 in cash and 2.2005 shares of Palo Alto Networks common stock for each CyberArk share, which represents a 26% premium to the unaffected 10-day average of the daily VWAPs of CyberArk as of Friday, July 25, 20251. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Palo Alto Networks revenue growth and gross margin. Palo Alto Networks also expects the transaction to be accretive to free cash flow per share in fiscal year 2028 following the first full year of realization of synergies. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both Palo Alto Networks and CyberArk, and is expected to close during the second half of Palo Alto Networks' fiscal 2026, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory clearances and approval by CyberArk shareholders. For further information regarding the terms and conditions contained in the definitive agreement, please see Palo Alto Networks' Current Report on Form 8-K and CyberArk's Report on Form 6-K, which will be filed in connection with the transaction. AdvisorsJ.P. Morgan Securities LLC is acting as financial advisor to Palo Alto Networks, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is acting as legal counsel and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP is acting as regulatory counsel. Qatalyst Partners is acting as financial advisor to CyberArk and Latham & Watkins LLP and Meitar Law Offices are acting as legal counsel. Shareholder letter and Investor Call DetailsRead the Palo Alto Networks Shareholder Letter from Chairman and CEO Nikesh Arora. Both organizations look forward to providing additional information on the transaction during an investor presentation at 6:30 am (PT) on July 30, 2025. Webcast link. Earnings Call Detail CyberArk will forgo its Q2 2025 Earnings Call on August 7, 2025 for the above stated investor call, and has issued a press release today with their Q2 2025 financial results. Palo Alto Networks will host its Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call via a live video webcast on August 18, 2025, at 1:30 pm (PT) accessible from the "Investors" section of the Palo Alto Networks website at Follow Palo Alto Networks on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. 1 Calculated based on the unaffected 10-day average of the daily VWAPs as of Friday, July 25, 2025: $196.66 per share for Palo Alto Networks, and $380.17 per share for CyberArk About CyberArkCyberArk (NASDAQ: CYBR) is the global leader in Identity Security, trusted by organizations around the world to secure human and machine identities in the modern enterprise. CyberArk's AI-powered Identity Security Platform applies intelligent privilege controls to every identity with continuous threat prevention, detection and response across the identity lifecycle. With CyberArk, organizations can reduce operational and security risks by enabling zero trust and least privilege with complete visibility, empowering all users and identities, including workforce, IT, developers and machines, to securely access any resource, located anywhere, from everywhere. Learn more at About Palo Alto NetworksAs the global AI and cybersecurity leader, Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is dedicated to protecting our digital way of life via continuous innovation. Trusted by more than 70,000 organizations worldwide, we provide comprehensive AI-powered security solutions across network, cloud, security operations and AI, enhanced by the expertise and threat intelligence of Unit 42. Our focus on platformization allows enterprises to streamline security at scale, ensuring protection fuels innovation. Explore more at Palo Alto Networks, Cortex, Strata, and the Palo Alto Networks logo are trademarks of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. in the United States or in jurisdictions throughout the world. All other trademarks, trade names, or service marks used or mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. Any unreleased services or features (and any services or features not generally available to customers) referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available (or are not yet generally available to customers) and may not be delivered when expected or at all. Customers who purchase Palo Alto Networks applications should make their purchase decisions based on services and features currently generally available. Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release relates to a proposed transaction between Palo Alto Networks, Inc. ("PANW") and CyberArk Software Ltd. ("CyberArk"). This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical or current facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding expected future business and financial performance, the expected future benefits to PANW, CyberArk, and their respective customers from completing the proposed transaction, the anticipated future integration of PANW's and CyberArk's capabilities and the benefits they will deliver, the expected completion of the proposed transaction, the expected timing for the completion of the proposed transaction, the expected accretion to free cash flow, revenue growth and gross margin and the timing thereof and the timing of the synergies from the proposed transaction, made in this press release are forward-looking. We use words such as "anticipates," "believes," "continue," "estimate," "expects," "future," "intends," "may," "plan," and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Actual results could differ materially for a variety of reasons. There are a significant number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements made or implied in this press release, including: the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the proposed transaction between PANW and CyberArk; PANW's ability to successfully integrate CyberArk's businesses and technologies; the risk that the expected benefits and synergies of the proposed transaction may not be fully achieved in a timely manner, or at all; the risk that PANW or CyberArk will be unable to retain and hire key personnel; the risk associated with CyberArk's ability to obtain the approval of its shareholders required to consummate the proposed transaction; the risk that the conditions to the proposed transaction are not satisfied on a timely basis, or at all, or the failure of the proposed transaction to close for any other reason or to close on the anticipated terms; the risk that any regulatory approval, consent or authorization that may be required for the proposed transaction is not obtained or is obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated or that could adversely affect the expected benefits of the transaction; significant and/or unanticipated difficulties, liabilities or expenditures relating to the transaction; the effect of the announcement, pendency or completion of the proposed transaction on the parties' business relationships and business operations generally; the effect of the announcement or pendency of the proposed transaction on the parties' common or ordinary share prices and uncertainty as to the long-term value of PANW's or CyberArk's common or ordinary share; risks related to disruption of management time from ongoing business operations due to the proposed transaction; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against PANW, CyberArk or their respective directors; developments and changes in general or worldwide market, geopolitical, economic, and business conditions; failure of PANW's platformization product offerings; failure to achieve the expected benefits of PANW's strategic partnerships and acquisitions; changes in the fair value of PANW's contingent consideration liability associated with acquisitions; risks associated with managing PANW's growth; risks associated with new product, subscription and support offerings, including product offerings that leverage AI; shifts in priorities or delays in the development or release of new product or subscription or other offerings, or the failure to timely develop and achieve market acceptance of new products and subscriptions as well as existing products, subscriptions and support offerings; failure of PANW's or CyberArk's business strategies; rapidly evolving technological developments in the market for security products, subscriptions and support offerings; defects, errors, or vulnerabilities in our products, subscriptions or support offerings; PANW's customers' purchasing decisions and the length of sales cycles; PANW's competition; PANW's ability to attract and retain new customers; PANW's ability to acquire and integrate other companies, products, or technologies in a successful manner; PANW's share repurchase program, which may not be fully consummated or enhance shareholder value, and any share repurchases which could affect the price of its common stock. For additional risks and uncertainties on these and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to PANW's and CyberArk's respective periodic reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the risk factors contained in PANW's and CyberArk's annual report on Form 10-K or 20-F, as applicable, periodic quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or reports of foreign private issuer on Form 6-K, as applicable. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on current beliefs and information available to management as of the date hereof, and neither PANW nor CyberArk assumes any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made. No Offer or Solicitation This press release is not intended to and shall not constitute an offer to buy or sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made, except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Additional Information about the Merger and Where to Find It In connection with the proposed transaction, PANW intends to file with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4, which will include a proxy statement of CyberArk that also constitutes a prospectus of PANW common shares to be offered in the proposed transaction. Each of PANW and CyberArk may also file or furnish other relevant documents with the SEC regarding the proposed transaction. This press release is not a substitute for the proxy statement/prospectus or registration statement or any other document that PANW or CyberArk may file or furnish with the SEC or send to security holders in connection with the proposed transaction. The registration statement will include a definitive proxy statement/prospectus, which will be sent to shareholders of CyberArk seeking their approval of the proposed transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-4, THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS INCLUDED WITHIN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-4 AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT MAY BE FILED OR FURNISHED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN OR WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the registration statement and proxy statement/prospectus, when available, and other documents containing important information about PANW, CyberArk and the proposed transaction, once such documents are filed or furnished with the SEC through the website maintained by the SEC at Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by PANW will be available free of charge on PANW's website at or by contacting PANW's Investor Relations Department by email at ir@ Copies of the documents filed or furnished with the SEC by CyberArk will be available free of charge on CyberArk's website at or by contacting CyberArk's Investor Relations department by email at ir@ or by phone at 617-558-2132. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Palo Alto Networks, Inc.
Channel Post MEA
27-05-2025
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
Core42 And Microsoft Unveil Whitepaper On Sovereign Public Clouds In AI Era
Microsoft and Core42, a G42 company specializing in sovereign cloud, AI infrastructure, and digital services, have released a comprehensive whitepaper titled ' Balancing Innovation and Compliance in the AI Era: Core42 Sovereign Public Cloud Leveraging Microsoft Azure '. This whitepaper delves into the transformative role of sovereign public cloud solutions in shaping the UAE's digital future, providing strategic insights and best practices for technology leaders to effectively adopt and deploy these solutions. Sovereign public clouds are crucial for several reasons: data sovereignty compliance ensures that data is stored, processed, and managed within a specific country or region, adhering to local laws and regulations, which is particularly crucial for sensitive information such as personally identifiable information (PII), intellectual property, and financial data. Sovereign clouds enhance security and privacy by implementing advanced measures like strict access controls and encryption, safeguarding data against unauthorized access, especially from foreign entities. They provide organizations greater operational control, enabling them to comply with legal and regulatory requirements while managing access to their data. Additionally, sovereign clouds support national interests by bolstering local digital infrastructure, fostering innovation, and reducing reliance on foreign providers. They also maintain scalability and cost efficiency, delivering the benefits of public cloud services while ensuring strict adherence to local regulations. A central insight from the whitepaper is that modern sovereign-enabled public clouds eliminate the long-standing trade-off between innovation and regulation. The paper features real-world use cases from the UAE, including AI-powered fraud detection in financial services, predictive diagnostics in healthcare, citizen data protection in government, and real-time analytics in energy. These examples illustrate how sovereign infrastructure can unlock transformative value while maintaining full regulatory alignment. By adopting a sovereign cloud model, companies in the UAE can embrace digital transformation with confidence, aligning technological progress with national priorities. The whitepaper also explores how the UAE is heavily investing in AI and the cloud to drive its digital future, with initiatives such as Abu Dhabi's strategy to become the world's first fully AI-native government by 2027. The UAE's sovereignty-first digital economy vision is being realized through such foundational infrastructure. By embedding data governance, compliance, and national security at the heart of digital transformation, the UAE is setting a global benchmark for AI-era leadership. The paper further highlights that global spending on sovereign cloud solutions is projectedto nearly double from $133 billion in 2024 to $259 billion by 2027, emphasizing the urgency for governments and industries globally to integrate digital sovereignty into their core technology strategies. Sherif Tawfik, Chief Partnership Officer – AI & Cloud for Sovereignty, Microsoft reiterated Microsoft's unwavering commitment to supporting the UAE's ambitious vision of becoming a global leader in digital transformation. 'The Core42 Sovereign Public Cloud, powered by Microsoft Azure, exemplifies our dedication to providing secure, compliant, and innovative cloud solutions that meet the unique needs of regulated industries in the UAE. By leveraging Microsoft Azure, we are providing a robust, secure, and compliant cloud infrastructure that empowers UAE organizations to harness the full potential of AI and cloud capabilities to innovate and accelerate their digital transformation journey while ensuring data sovereignty and regulatory compliance.' Adrian Hobbs, Chief Technology Officer, Core42, highlighted the significance of the partnership between Core42 and Microsoft as a testament to their shared commitment to driving digital innovation while ensuring compliance with local regulations. 'The Core42 Sovereign Public Cloud, powered by Microsoft Azure, which leverages our sovereign control platform, Insight, is designed to meet the unique needs of regulated industries. This initiative aims to enable businesses to achieve their digital ambitions securely and in compliance with regulatory requirements. Our collaboration with Microsoft ensures that we provide a cloud environment that fosters innovation while upholding the highest standards of data sovereignty and regulatory compliance. We are proud to contribute to the national journeys towards becoming global technology leaders.' The partnership between Microsoft and Core42 has been pivotal in driving digital innovation and transformation across the UAE. Recently, the Abu Dhabi Government announced a landmark agreement with Microsoft and Core42 to implement a sovereign cloud system that will enhance efficiency and boost innovation in government services. This multi-year agreement aims to create a unified, high-performance sovereign cloud computing environment capable of processing over 11 million daily digital interactions between Abu Dhabi Government entities, citizens, residents, and businesses. The collaboration is a testament to the shared commitment of Microsoft and Core42 to drive digital innovation while ensuring compliance with local regulations. The Core42 Sovereign Public Cloud, powered by Microsoft Azure, which leverages the Core42 sovereign controls platform 'Insight', exemplifies this dedication by providing secure, compliant, and innovative cloud solutions tailored to the unique needs of regulated industries in the UAE. 0 0
The Hindu
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Cisco intensifies focus on cyber security for AI Era
Cisco, a global technology provider, on Tuesday said it made several transformative innovations and partnership announcements that would help security professionals secure and harness the power of AI as part of the company's continuous drive towards reimagining security for the AI Era. Security teams have been inundated with thousands of threat alerts daily. An increasingly sophisticated threat landscape combined with an expanding talent shortage meant the need has never been greater for machine scale security and response, the company said. 'The cybersecurity threat landscape has never been more dynamic and complex, with adversaries constantly emboldened and enabled by AI to drive new attacks and exploits,' said Jeetu Patel, Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer, Cisco. To fight back, understaffed security operations and IT leaders needed AI power of their own. Cisco was continuing its mission to secure AI and leverage AI for security with novel open-source models and tools, new AI agents, and IoT advancements, alongside the full breadth of the Cisco Security Cloud, he said. ''Together, these innovations will help level the playing field and deliver AI innovation that makes all businesses more secure,'' Mr. Patel added. According to the company, Cisco XDR (extended detection and response) addresses this challenge by correlating telemetry across network, endpoint, cloud, email, and more, using agentic AI to surface what matters most to organizations. The new automated XDR Forensics capabilities offered deeper visibility into endpoint activity, increasing the accuracy of investigations while a new XDR Storyboard visualises complex attacks, empowering security teams to understand threats in seconds and decisively respond faster, claimed Cisco.
Forbes
10-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Do Mainframes Have A Role In The AI Era?
AI-Generated, AI-Enabled Mainframe Francis Sideco A couple of years after generative AI first entered mainstream consciousness, every industry segment is attempting to leverage it to improve efficiency and offer new products and services. While training will continue to evolve and drive innovation, inferencing will drive value creation through advanced AI capabilities such as chain of thought reasoning, multi-modal functionality and multi-model support combining different types of generative AI models with predictive AI. Most of the conversations on delivering these inferencing solutions gravitate around AI data centers, edge infrastructure, and/or on-device processing. This begs the question: Does the mainframe have a role in the AI Era? What Is A Mainframe? While servers are designed more for supporting general-purpose applications and multiple clients or functions like website hosting and email servers, mainframes are designed for high-volume, mission-critical tasks such as financial transaction processing and are often used in heavily regulated industries. As such, mainframes require a higher degree of capacity, reliability and security enabled with advanced virtualization, disaster recovery, backwards compatibility and built-in redundancy. Additionally, workloads are typically handled by a centralized mainframe system whereas a distributed architecture to spread workloads over many systems is commonly used in a server architecture. With the capacity, reliability and security that mainframes provide along with their ubiquity in supporting high-volume, high-value transactions and data processing, the answer to whether mainframes have a role in the AI Era is an unequivocal 'Yes!' IBM, the leader in mainframe solutions with 70% of all global financial transactions going through their mainframes, is a prime example. A Mainframe For The AI Era Telum II By The Numbers Francis Sideco IBM recently announced the latest in its Z family of mainframes, the Z17, with the goal of addressing the needs of the AI Era while still delivering on the rigorous expectations associated with mainframes. According to IBM, this Z17 generation is powered by its 5nm 5.5GHz Telum II CPU, which, compared to the previous generation, delivers an 11% increase in single-thread performance, up to 20% capacity expansion and up to 64 TB of memory, while also doing so with up to 27% power reduction. Additionally, Telum II has an enhanced on-board AI accelerator capable of predictive and some generative AI workloads. For the generative AI workloads that require more acceleration, the Z17 can also be upgraded with the new Spyre Accelerator PCIe card. Spyre Accelerator By The Numbers Francis Sideco Based on IBMs reported performance numbers, the Z17 provides 7.5x more AI throughput than the Z16 generation delivering up to 450 billion AI inferences with 1ms response times per day. What AI Workloads Need A Mainframe? Due to their heavy use in financial transactions and mission-critical data processing, mainframes are most effective when using a combination of predictive and generative AI models. For example, because of the high-volume, central processing, and multi-model capabilities, mainframes can effectively and efficiently analyze patterns from the transactions and data passing through the system and infer conclusions that can be used in advanced fraud detection and anti-money laundering applications for improved accuracy and fewer false positives. Mainframes also combine these capabilities with mission-critical business data to help enable business, code and operations assistants to increase productivity and reduce the time needed for skills training, and autonomous agentic AI applications like automated trading and healthcare applications. Other areas where AI-enabled mainframes are being used include, but are not limited tom loan risk mitigation, insurance claims fraud detection and prevention, payments fraud, geospatial analysis, climate change impact, loan risk mitigation, cybersecurity and sentiment analysis. These are just a small subset of applications where predictive, generative and even agentic AI leverage the mainframe for business outcomes that would otherwise be inefficient or not available because of the data and/or security requirements on standard server configurations especially in heavily regulated industries in which mainframes are typically deployed. The Future Of Mainframes In The AI Era According to IBM, there are already more than 250 client-identified AI use cases on the Z mainframe platform and growing. But it's not all about the hardware. IBM leverages its other AI assets like watsonx, Granite, InstructLab and even their consulting services, across IBMs solutions, including the Z platform, positioning the company as a strong partner for the age of enterprise AI. Competitors such as Dell, Fujitsu, and Unisys are also looking to leverage AI for mainframe workloads. Next generation mainframe development typically takes 5-7 years and if they're anything like IBM, it is safe to say that the next few generations of AI-enabled mainframes are already in the works. Not only are mainframes surviving in the AI Era, they are thriving.
