Dell to Buy IT Security Company SonicWall

The Wall Street Journal: Dell has announced that it will purchase SonicWall, an IT security vendor that sells products like firewalls, secure remote access, email protection, and backup and recovery. Although the companies did not disclose the terms of the deal, analysts estimate that Dell paid between $1 billion and $1.5 billion for the firm; in 2010 SonicWall went private for $717 million.

Dell, the world’s third largest PC manufacturer, has been responding to the increasingly uncertain PC market by emphasizing software and services over hardware. According to Dell’s John Swainson, the SonicWall acquisition will help the company build its software portfolio and provide Dell with “unique intellectual-property resources and technology.”