OpenText, a Canadian computing enterprise, has agreed to purchase Carbonite, a Boston-based provider of cloud-based data backup services, who has recently shifted focus to IT security. The deal was closed at $1.42billion and came just months after the resignation of Carbonite Chief Executive Mohamad Ali.
Carbonite was founded in 2005, and was one of the first businesses to offer cloud-based backup solutions to users. Over the years, as the storage platform faced stiff competition from other cloud storage vendors, it shifted its focus to data backup for small-and-medium-sized businesses and data security with acquisition of Webroot, an antimalware product developer based in Colorado. In 2016, Carbonite acquired EVault, a division of Seagate Technology, giving it an additional data protection offering that includes hybrid backup and disaster recovery services. In 2017, the company acquired Double-Take software adding data migrations and higher availability with its solutions.
OpenText offers Enterprise Information Management (EIM) services that help businesses to analyze their data and derive insights. The company provides information standardization to improve decision making and overcome traditional IT barriers when related to challenges.
Carbonite management said that they strongly believe that the deal will return substantial cash value to the shareholders. The purchase is 78% of the premium on Carbonite’s share price on September 5.
The chief executive of OpenText, Mark Barrenechea, said in statement that there would not be any significant disruption to the Carbonite workforce of about 1,500 employees, and they are looking to work with new talent.
Though both companies hope to complement each other very well, it will be interesting to see the innovation they bring into the cloud space.
