• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

VMware Agrees to Buy Carbon Black and Pivotal for Combined $4.8 Billion

By
Andrew Martin
Andrew Martin
and
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Andrew Martin
Andrew Martin
and
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 22, 2019, 5:42 PM ET

VMware Inc. agreed to purchase two software companies on Thursday for almost $5 billion, expanding its reach in development tools and cybersecurity.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company said it was purchasing Pivotal Software, which sells cloud software and services, for $2.7 billion, and Carbon Black, a cybersecurity firm, for $2.1 billion.

VMware, which makes virtualization and networking tools and is majority-owned by Dell Technologies, said the combined company will provide software to build, run, manage, connect, and protect any app on the cloud or any device. Purchasing the two companies will accelerate VMware’s plan to deliver secure, multicloud application development.

The two acquisitions “will meaningfully expand our ability to power our customer’s digital transformation,” said Pat Gelsinger, VMware’s chief executive officer.

“These acquisitions address two critical technology priorities of all businesses today—building modern, enterprise-grade applications and protecting enterprise workloads and clients,” he said.

VMware will acquire San Francisco-based Pivotal for a blended price of $11.71 per share in cash and stock, the company said in a statement.

“Together, we will form an organization that combines Pivotal’s expertise modernizing organizations with VMware’s capabilities and experience operating at scale,” Pivotal CEO Rob Mee said. Pivotal, a long-term partner of VMware, also is majority-owned by Dell.

VMware said it will pay $26 a share in cash for Waltham, Mass.-based Carbon Black, giving the target company an enterprise value of $2.1 billion. Once the deal is complete, VMware said it would be positioned to provide “highly differentiated, intrinsic security cloud” through big data, behavioral analytics and artificial intelligence.

“We now have the opportunity to seamlessly integrate Carbon Black’s cloud native end point protection platform into all of VMware’s control points,” said Patrick Morley, Carbon Black’s CEO.

Both transactions are expected to be completed in the second half of VMware’s fiscal year, which ends Jan. 31.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. acted as financial adviser to VMware on the deals, with Morrison & Foerster acting as legal adviser to VMware on the Carbon Black acquisition and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as legal counsel to VMware on the Pivotal purchase.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the role Morrison & Foerster played in VMware’s recent acquisitions. It was legal advisor only for the Carbon Black acquisition. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati handled the Pivotal acquisition.

More must-read stories from Fortune:

—A rare tech company where women dominate
—Walmart CEO: VR training helped save lives in the El Paso shooting
—Can Apple afford to make its streaming video service free?
—How to compete with technology in the age of automation
—Disney’s streaming service won’t be available on the most popular streaming devices
Catch up with Data Sheet, Fortune‘s daily digest on the business of tech.

About the Authors
By Andrew Martin
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Bloomberg
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

outage
North Americasmartphones and mobile devices
If your phone is on SOS (and you can see this), yes, Verizon is having a major outage across the U.S.
By The Associated PressJanuary 14, 2026
12 hours ago
AIHiring
McKinsey challenges graduates to master AI tools as it shifts hiring hunt toward liberal arts majors
By Jake AngeloJanuary 14, 2026
16 hours ago
NewslettersCIO Intelligence
How Expedia’s CTO is using AI to transform work for 17,000 employees—and travel for millions
By John KellJanuary 14, 2026
16 hours ago
thiel
Personal FinanceTaxes
Peter Thiel makes his biggest donation in years to help defeat California’s billionaire wealth tax
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 14, 2026
16 hours ago
Jensen Huang
SuccessProductivity
The job market is broken, but Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is ‘fairly confident’ that AI will increase productivity and therefore, hiring—but there’s a catch
By Preston ForeJanuary 14, 2026
18 hours ago
Illustration of Google logo and Gemini open on a smartphone.
AIGoogle
Google connects Gemini to users’ emails and photos in push to build a personal assistant
By Beatrice NolanJanuary 14, 2026
18 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Peter Thiel makes his biggest donation in years to help defeat California’s billionaire wealth tax
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 14, 2026
16 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Despite his $2.6 billion net worth, MrBeast says he’s having to borrow cash and doesn’t even have enough money in his bank account to buy McDonald’s
By Emma BurleighJanuary 13, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
'Godfather of AI' says the technology will create massive unemployment and send profits soaring — 'that is the capitalist system'
By Jason MaJanuary 12, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Being mean to ChatGPT can boost its accuracy, but scientists warn you may regret it
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 13, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
'Microshifting,' an extreme form of hybrid working that breaks work into short, non-continuous blocks, is on the rise
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 13, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Goldman Sachs top economist says Powell probe won’t change the Fed: 'Decisions are going to be made based on employment and inflation'
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 12, 2026
3 days ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.