OpenText Expands Data Protection with Carbonite Acquisition

Shares of Carbonite stock jumped 25% on Monday after the announcement that Carbonite, valued at $1.42 billion, will be acquired by OpenText. OpenText dropped around $800 million in cash, spurring the Carbonite stock’s turnaround after falling 27% over the past year. 

The purchase aligns with moves made by both companies in recent years. In 2018, OpenText acquired Hightail and Carbonite purchased Mozy, illustrating an interest in improving secure cloud file sharing portfolios by both companies. OpenText also acquired Catalyst Repository Systems in January of this year for $75 million, as well as Liaison Technologies in 2018 and Guidance Software in 2017 for a combined total of $550 million. These acquisitions all follow the company's $1.6 billion purchase of Dell-EMC’s enterprise content division in 2016. 

OpenText's leadership cited a desire to improve security for its cloud-based information management solutions by complementing its existing data loss prevention (DLP) endpoint security solutions. 

“Cloud platforms and secured, smart endpoints are essential information management technologies as businesses transform into Industry 4.0,” Mark J. Barrenechea, OpenText CEO & CTO, said in a press release. “This acquisition will further strengthen OpenText as a leader in cloud platforms, complete endpoint security and protection, and will open a new route to connect with customers, through Carbonite’s marquee SMB/prosumer channel and products.”

Carbonite, the Boston-based software and services provider, has developed backup and data protection solutions since 2005. It's a major player in the backup technology market, with three products in the Leader quadrant of G2’s Online Backup software category alone.

“Carbonite has expanded its solutions to become a leader in cyber resiliency. We have grown through both organic and inorganic opportunities over the years, enhancing our routes to market, diversifying our customer base, and assembling a talented workforce, while adding meaningful scale,” Steve Munford, interim CEO and president/executive chairman of the board of Carbonite said in a press release. “Joining with OpenText is an exciting next step for Carbonite.”