Opsware Inc. to Acquire Rendition Networks

Opsware Inc. (www.opsware.com) announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held, Redmond-based Rendition Networks, the technology leader in network device automation, in a cash and stock transaction.

Rendition Networks is the leading network device automation company, with approximately 30 customers including large financial service institutions, government agencies and telecommunications companies.

Modern Web applications are complex composites of many server platforms, software components and network devices. Not only is management of each component highly manual and costly, but there is no unified way to manage the application as a whole.

"The combination of world leading server, application and network automation will provide a breakthrough automation solution unmatched in the marketplace," said Ben Horowitz, President and CEO of Opsware Inc.

Today's Web-based applications require a solution that can manage change holistically across the application infrastructure. For example, increasing capacity for an application requires coordinated changes across servers, software and network infrastructure.

"As the numbers of devices within organizations continues to explode, customers are demanding a single, integrated solution that automates all critical IT assets, including servers, software, and network devices," said Raghav Kher, Rendition's President and CEO.

The transaction is valued at $33 million in Opsware cash and stock, consisting of $15 million in cash and approximately 2.68 million shares of Opsware common stock. In addition, Rendition's existing cash, after certain adjustments, will be distributed to its stock holders at closing in the form of a dividend, not expected to exceed $7 million.

Rendition Networks is the leading provider of network configuration control software. Its flagship product, TrueControl, tracks and regulates changes-in real-time-across routers, switches, firewalls, and load balancers to provide greater accountability and insight for network changes, thereby assisting in compliance with regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley and dramatically reducing downtime and increasing the security of a company's IT organization.

Opsware Inc. is the world's leading IT automation and utility computing software company. The growth of the Internet is driving a shift from client/server computing to Web architecture. With this shift comes an overwhelming proliferation of servers and applications, creating massive complexity that makes an automated IT model a necessity.