New company to combine security services, business process modeling, B2B services

Axway, the U.S. subsidiary of Paris-based Sopra Group, will purchase Tumbleweed Communications in what the two companies billed as a “friendly” merger.

The new security company will have a new name -- which has not yet been made public -- and revenues of around $270 million, according to Axway, which is offering $2.70 per share for all of Tumbleweed's stock. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, pending regulatory approvals as well as the approval of Tumbleweed stockholders.

Redwood City, Calif.-based Tumbleweed, best known for its file transfer and email security software and appliances, reported revenues of $57 million in fiscal 2007, while Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Axway reported revenues of $218 million last year.

Why the merger? “We wanted to be the dominant leader in the managed file transfer space, secure content delivery,” says Joe Fisher, executive vice president of product management for Tumbleweed. “The core assets Axway brings augment our managed file transfer [business] nicely, [such as] business process modeling. And they offer a [software as a service] model, and we offer appliances and software – those are complementary pieces there.”

Axway, meanwhile, was looking to make more inroads into the U.S. market, as well as to add security appliances and software to its portfolio of products, according to Dave Bennett, CTO of Axway, which offers B2B integration and business process modeling services.

Industry experts say Tumbleweed was struggling in the already-crowded email security space. But Tumbleweed’s Fisher says the merger was a fit for Tumbleweed’s strategic plans and there are no plans to phase out any Tumbleweed products at this time. “It is in line with where we are going. It’s not a student-body left or student-body right [move] in strategy,” he says.

Have a comment on this story? Please click "Discuss" below. If you'd like to contact Dark Reading's editors directly, send us a message.

About the Author(s)

Kelly Jackson Higgins, Editor-in-Chief, Dark Reading

Kelly Jackson Higgins is the Editor-in-Chief of Dark Reading. She is an award-winning veteran technology and business journalist with more than two decades of experience in reporting and editing for various publications, including Network Computing, Secure Enterprise Magazine, Virginia Business magazine, and other major media properties. Jackson Higgins was recently selected as one of the Top 10 Cybersecurity Journalists in the US, and named as one of Folio's 2019 Top Women in Media. She began her career as a sports writer in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, and earned her BA at William & Mary. Follow her on Twitter @kjhiggins.

Keep up with the latest cybersecurity threats, newly discovered vulnerabilities, data breach information, and emerging trends. Delivered daily or weekly right to your email inbox.

You May Also Like


More Insights