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Dell Sold RSA Security to a Three-Investor Consortium for About $2.1 Billion

Dell sold RSA Security to a consortium led by Symphony Technology Group, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and AlpInvest Partners. Here’s what was included and how Dell reported the deal’s price and closing.
From TheFinanceBase Team2 min to read
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Dell Technologies agreed in February 2020 to sell RSA Security to a consortium led by Symphony Technology Group, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and AlpInvest Partners. Dell announced a transaction value of $2.075 billion, subject to adjustments; when the sale closed on September 1, 2020, Dell reported approximately $2.082 billion in cash consideration.

Who bought RSA Security from Dell?

The buyer was a consortium led by three investors: Symphony Technology Group, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and AlpInvest Partners. Dell announced the definitive agreement on February 18, 2020, describing it as an all-cash transaction. Dell’s announcement identified the consortium and transaction terms.

What was included in the RSA sale?

The transaction covered RSA’s security and risk-management business, including the following products and event:

  • RSA Archer
  • RSA NetWitness Platform
  • RSA SecurID
  • RSA Fraud and Risk Intelligence
  • RSA Conference

At the time, Dell described RSA’s activities as digital risk management, threat detection and response, identity and access management, integrated risk management, and omnichannel fraud prevention. Dell and RSA also said the business served more than 12,500 customers; that was a company-reported figure in the 2020 announcement.

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How much did Dell receive for RSA?

The two reported amounts refer to different stages of the deal, rather than conflicting sale prices:

Transaction stage Amount What Dell reported
Agreement announced, February 18, 2020 $2.075 billion Announced all-cash transaction value, subject to certain adjustments, as stated by Dell in its announcement and Form 8-K.
Sale completed, September 1, 2020 Approximately $2.082 billion Cash consideration Dell reported at completion in its Form 10-Q.

The announced value was an agreement-stage figure subject to adjustments; the later figure was the cash consideration Dell reported upon closing. They should not be treated as identical accounting measures.

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When did the transaction close, and what did Dell say about the proceeds?

Dell reported that the sale closed on September 1, 2020. In its quarterly filing, Dell recorded a $338 million pretax gain on sale, but a net loss of $21 million after $359 million in tax expense. Dell attributed the tax expense to the relatively low tax basis of the assets sold, particularly goodwill. These are Dell’s reported accounting results, not an additional measure of the cash price.

Dell said the divestiture was intended to further simplify its product portfolio and corporate structure. That was the seller’s stated rationale in its October 2020 Form 10-Q.

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How did the buyer describe the acquisition?

William Chisholm, managing partner at Symphony Technology Group, said: “As one of the world’s elite security brands, RSA represents a great opportunity for solving some of the rapidly developing customer challenges that go along with digital transformation,” according to Dell’s February 2020 announcement. This was the buyer group’s view of the opportunity, not an independent assessment of RSA’s market position or performance.

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