Cisco Swoops In With $3.7 Billion Bid For AppDynamics Just Before IPO

Cisco Systems Inc. announced an agreement Tuesday to acquire AppDynamics Inc. for $3.7 billion, just before the tech startup was set for an initial public offering that would have valued the company at potentially half that total. AppDynamics increased its price range in a filing Tuesday morning, which was expected to be one of the last steps before the software firm sold its first batch of public shares. The IPO was expected to value AppDynamics at a similar or lower level to its most recent private investment, which placed a $1.9 billion price tag on the company. AppDynamics tracks and manages data and performance from business-focused applications, which could be a selling point for Cisco as it looks to provide more software to its large enterprise customers. "As companies across industries are expanding their digital infrastructure, IT departments are faced with vast amounts of complex, siloed data," wrote Rob Salvagno, Cisco's head of mergers and acquisitions, in a blog post. "AppDynamics helps many of the world's largest enterprises translate this data into business insights and empowers them to drive value for their customers in today's digital world." Cisco shares gained about 0.2% in late trading after the acquisition was announced Tuesday evening.