Microsoft has announced its intentions to buy Israeli start-up Kidaro, a leading provider of desktop virtualization solutions for enterprises. Analysts estimate the price at a whopping $90-100 million. According to inside sources, the unexpected offer was set up by Opus Ventures Partner Dan Avida, former CEO and President of Decru. He was also in charge of putting his former colleague, Kevin Brown, at Kidaro’s helm.
Kidaro, which was chugging along just fine at a high-growth pace, wasn’t planning to sell itself. But apparently this offer was just too good to refuse. The deal is expected to yield Kidaro investors Pitango Partners and Opus Capital a return of five times their initial investments.
Microsoft’s press release explains its reasons for the acquisition: “In combining Kidaro’s virtualization technology with its suite of desktop management tools, known as the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for Software Assurance, Microsoft will enable IT professionals to optimize their desktop infrastructure by providing management capabilities for Virtual PCs, streamlining deployments and easing application compatibility issues.”
According to Shanen Boettcher, general manager of Windows product management at Microsoft, “The acquisition of Kidaro is an important component of our virtualization strategy, and it delivers a powerful new tool to help enterprise customers optimize their desktops.”…”Kidaro’s seamless user interface and management capabilities allow enterprises to more easily use and manage Virtual PCs.” Kidaro’s technology “further enables virtualization across the enterprise, and is another example of how we are helping customers keep up with the changing needs of their business.”
For more on this big deal check out Microsoft’s press release.
Filed under: Communications, Hi-Tech, Software | Tagged: kidaro, pitango capital, desktop virtualization, opus, dan avida, kevin brown, decru, desktop optimization, virtual pc
