Sourcefire acquires Immunet for cloud-based anti-malware: Immunet acquisition puts Sourcefire in direct competition with traditional anti-malware providers

Sourcefire today announced it has acquired start-up Immunet for $21 million, including $17 million paid at closing and $4 million expected to be paid over the next 18 months upon "achievement of product-delivery milestones related to the enterprise version of Immunet's product."

Tech M&A deals of 2010

John Burris, CEO of Sourcefire, which makes intrusion prevention products and shepherds the open-source Snort, called Immunet a "disruptive innovator in delivering cloud-based solutions with over 750,000 users in 192 countries." Burris said in a statement the acquisition of Immunet would help Sourcefire accelerate its cloud initiatives. Executives acknowledge the Immunet acquisition puts Sourcefire in direct competition with traditional anti-malware providers.

In a call with analysts, Burris said Immunet enhances Sourcefire as a "strategic security provider" and said it...