Dell Reportedly Throws Down Over $1 Billion to Acquire SonicWall

In response to competition from smartphones and tablets, Dell has agreed to buy tech-security company SonicWall.

The Wall Street Journal reports on Dell's statement that SonicWall has more than 130 registered and pending patents, 950 employees and more than 300,000 customers.

The acquisition will put more network-security and data-protection tools into Dell's hands, allowing it to better protect data as clients move it to the cloud. Because SonicWall is expanding its next-generation firewall business with its SuperMassive offering, the deal will give Dell an edge in the firewall market, as Shebly Seyrafi, an analyst at FBN Securities, points out in a Bloomberg Businessweek piece on the acquisition.

According to the statement, the deal is expected to close in Dell's fiscal second quarter ending July 31.