Cisco-Splunk deal to reportedly receive unconditional EU approval

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Written on Mar 5, 2024

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European Commission did not find anti-competitive issues in Cisco-Splunk deal.
Cisco recently moved up the timeline of its $28 billion $SPLK acquisition.
$CSCO and Splunk shares are trading slightly up in premarket on Tuesday.

Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) is in focus today following a report that the European Commission is set to unconditionally approve its $28 billion deal with Splunk Inc (NASDAQ: SPLK).

Cisco-Splunk deal is clear of anti-competitive concerns

Anonymous sources told Reuters this morning that a preliminary review did not find any anti-competitive issues with the Cisco-Splunk deal.

The European Commission is, therefore, expected to clear the acquisition after its ongoing review officially completes on March 13^th.

Cisco first announced plans of buying Splunk in September of 2023 to expand its footprint in AI-enabled cybersecurity. The deal, it expects, will deliver a boost to demand as well.

Wall Street currently has a consensus “hold” rating on $CSCO that pays a dividend yield of 3.26% at writing.

Cisco recently moved up the timeline of Splunk deal

In February, Cisco Systems said the $157 a share $SPLK cash deal is now expected to close by early in the second quarter of 2024. It had originally committed to completing that transaction by the end of Q3.

Neither Cisco nor Splunk have so far commented on Reuters report. Representative of the European Commission also declined to comment on Tuesday.

The news arrives only weeks after $CSCO reported its financial results for the second quarter that topped Street estimates. The multinational also revealed plans of lowering its global headcount by some 5.0% or more than 4,000 employees last month as Invezz covered here.

Cisco shares are currently down about 15% versus their 52-week high.