Cisco, Splunk deal could usher in 'tidal wave' of M&A, Wedbush says
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The announcement this morning by Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) to acquire Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK) in a $28B deal could usher in a "tidal wave" of mergers, investment firm Wedbush Securities said. 
Commenting on the deal, analyst Dan Ives said the deal, which was first discussed a few years ago by Cisco's (CSCO) leadership team, could lead to more deals over the next six to nine months, especially from companies looking to make both strategic and financial decisions.
Ives also explained that the purchase price of $157 per share in cash for Splunk (SPLK) is a "fair" multiple, valuing the company at roughly six times fiscal 2025 revenue. 
For Cisco (CSCO), Ives said it becomes a "shot across the bow" at other cybersecurity companies like Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Checkpoint (CHKP), CrowdStrike (CRWD), Microsoft (MSFT) and Zscaler (ZS), showing that the company is not "sitting idle" and is looking to aggressively expand its footprint in the cybersecurity market.
Ives also said that the deal should help Cisco (CSCO) compete with the likes of Microsoft, Google (GOOG) (GOOGL), Oracle (ORCL), Amazon (AMZN), Adobe (ADBE) and IBM (IBM) as the next-wave of artificial intelligence moves to software and cybersecurity.
"[T]his was a well-designed strategic poker move that caught the Street off guard to get a great unique software asset at a fair multiple," Ives explained.

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