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