Cisco to Buy Splunk for $28 Billion in Giant AI-Powered Data Bet
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Cisco Systems Inc. agreed to buy Splunk Inc. in a deal valued at about $28 billion, representing its biggest acquisition yet and a massive push into software and artificial intelligence-powered data analysis.The networking giant will pay $157 a share in cash, the companies said in a statement Thursday, or a 31% premium to Splunk's closing price on Wednesday. The purchase represents roughly 10% of Cisco's market value. Under Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins, Cisco has been trying to lessen its dependence on one-time sales of expensive hardware and shift toward software and services. Splunk is its most expensive push yet into that area and will help Cisco reach a broader base of customers, who can use the new services to gain insight into their network and computing operations...