Home / Deals / Advised Zeus Technology, the pioneer of Application Delivery Controller software, on its sale to Riverbed Technology

Advised Zeus Technology, the pioneer of Application Delivery Controller software, on its sale to Riverbed Technology
Jul 2011
acquired by
$140 million
  • Sector: Infrastructure Software & Cybersecurity
  • Deal Type: Strategic Deals; Venture Capital Exits
  • Engagement type: Sellside
  • Size: $140 million
Scroll

Arma Partners is pleased to announce that it acted as exclusive financial advisor to Zeus Technology Limited (“Zeus”) on its sale to Riverbed Technology, Inc.(“Riverbed”)(NASDAQ: RVBD). Under the terms of the acquisition, Riverbed will pay approximately $110 million in cash at closing and up to an additional $30 million in cash based on the achievement of certain bookings targets over the following year.

Founded in 1995 and backed by Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) and DFJ Esprit, Zeus delivers high performance software-based load balancing and traffic management solutions for virtual and cloud environments. Zeus enables enterprises to deliver applications and websites with a consistently excellent user-experience, whatever the demand, with the flexibility and economics of cloud computing.

Zeus pioneered the development of software-based highly scalable application delivery controllers (ADCs). The Zeus virtual ADC (vADC) delivers the highest performance, and supports the broadest range of hypervisors, including VMware, Xen, HyperV and KVM. Zeus vADC solutions are used by over 1,500 customers worldwide, including 7 of the top 10 telecom operators, a majority of the leading cloud service providers, major broadcasters, and top media and e-commerce companies.

The acquisition will form the cornerstone of Riverbed’s asymmetric optimization strategy. As a software-based solution, the Zeus vADC has many advantages over its hardware-originated peers: (i) it is better suited for virtual and cloud environments; (ii) it can migrate across environments; and (iii) it can scale on demand. Through this acquisition Riverbed seeks to unlock the potential for integrating both symmetric and asymmetric acceleration approaches in order to deliver the best solution for performance in both private and public cloud environments.
Screen reader support enabled.

– Founded in 1995, Zeus delivers high performance software-based load balancing and traffic management solutions for virtual, cloud and hybrid environments

– Zeus products enable enterprises to deliver applications and websites with a consistently excellent user-experience, whatever the demand, with the flexibility and economics of cloud computing

– Zeus virtual ADC solutions are used by over 1,500 customers worldwide, including 7 of the top 10 telecom operators

– Founded in 2002, Riverbed is a leading provider of WAN optimization solutions

– Riverbed’s products enable enterprises to consolidate IT infrastructure, minimize bandwidth consumption and accelerate application performance via WANs

– Riverbed’s flagship product, Steelhead appliance, is deployed at over 9,000 customers globally

– In 2010, Riverbed generated $552 million of revenue

– The acquisition will form the cornerstone of Riverbed’s asymmetric optimization strategy

– As a software-based solution, the Zeus vADC has many advantages over its hardware-originated peers:

  • it is better suited for virtual and cloud environments
  • it can migrate across environments
  • it can scale on demand

– Through this acquisition Riverbed seeks to unlock the potential for integrating both symmetric and asymmetric acceleration approaches in order to deliver the best solution for performance in both private and public cloud environments

– Arma Partners was engaged by Zeus shareholders to evaluate the company’s strategic options and support the business with a view to maximising long-term shareholder value

– Arma Partners “quarterbacked” multiple strategic and partnership discussions that Zeus had with several players in the ecosystem, either actively or behind-the-scenes as appropriate in the circumstances in the run-up to the acquisition

– Articulating specific combination rationale and case studies for the counterparties involved and evaluating timing and valuation considerations was a critical contribution to secure an excellent outcome for the Company and the shareholders

Back to deals