Investment firm acquires authentication provider Aladdin
Aladdin Knowledge Systems, maker of authentication tokens and digital rights management (DRM) solutions, announced Monday that it has been acquired by a private equity firm for $160 million.San Francisco-based Vector Capital, which specializes in buying out established technology firms, will pay Aladdin stockholders $11.50 per share, according to a news release.
"After extensive negotiations and careful and thorough analysis conducted with our independent advisers, the board has unanimously endorsed this transaction as in the best interests of the company and our shareholders," said Yanki Margalit, Aladdin's chairman and CEO.
Israel-based Aladdin will now join SafeNet, best known for its full-disk and removable media encryption offerings, under the Vector Capital umbrella. Vector acquired Belcamp, Md.-based SafeNet in April 2007 for $634 million.
David Fishman, a Vector Capital partner, said positioning Aladdin with SafeNet "makes considerable strategic sense" for stakeholders.
