Dells Sells RSA, Simplifies Product Portfolio

On Tuesday, Feb. 18, it was announced that Dell Technologies Inc. will sell RSA Security LLC to a consortium led by the private equity firm Symphony Technology Group for $2.075 billion. Leaders at Dell said this was part of a continued effort to simplify the scope of its extensive product portfolio. 

“The strategies of RSA and Dell Technologies have evolved to address different business needs with different go-to-market models,” Jeff Clarke, Dell Technologies' chief operating officer and vice chairman, said in a blog post. “The sale of RSA gives us greater flexibility to focus on integrated innovation across Dell Technologies, while allowing RSA to focus on its strategy of providing risk, security, and fraud teams with the ability to holistically manage digital risk.”

By selling RSA, Dell will relinquish ownership of RSA’s numerous industry-leading security and privacy solutions. The transaction is said to include RSA’s product portfolio as well as the RSA Conference, one of the security world’s biggest annual events. 

RSA's most reviewed product, RSA SecurID Access is a Leader in G2’s Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Single Sign-On (SSO) categories and the top-rated Biometric Authentication product in the category. Additionally, RSA Archer is a Contender in G2’s Operational Risk Management software category. And RSA Adaptive Authentication is a contender in the Fraud Detection and Risk-Based Authentication categories. 

Symphony Technology Group is a private equity firm whose portfolio includes AFS Technologies, Fishbowl, and RedSeal, among others. Other parties involved in the transaction include the Ontario Teachers’ and AlpInvest, a global private investor. 

The sale is not expected to impact RSA’s annual security conference, later this month, and the transaction is expected to close within the next six to nine months.