Bill Gates
Microsoft buys Israeli Whale Communications
Software giant purchasing Israeli start-up company, specializing in application access, security for USD 70-80 million; purchase another step in turning Microsoft Israel division into research and development center
Yet another Israeli company purchased by international investors: Software giant Microsoft has purchased Israeli Whale Communications based in Rosh Haayin, near Tel Aviv. The deal is estimated at USD 70-80 million.
Whale, which is headquartered in New Jersey and operates subsidiaries in North America and Europe, was formed in 1998 as a start-up and specializes in secure remote access for internal organizations' networks.
Whale has over two million users, including employees, business partners, government and public organizations, and customers, including a few fortune 500 companies.
Whale was founded and is owned by Daniel Steiner, Elad Baron, Yossi Moriel and Moshe Livne, who also own Soft Link and Repliweb.
The purchase of Whale communications is one in a series of strategic moves by Microsoft to turn its Israel branch into a research and development center. Whale's contribution to Microsoft is in the secure access field.
Moshe Lichtman, Microsoft's corporate vice president, returned to Israel and will head the efforts to establish the center in Israel and promote significant investment in research and development.
