Sophos, an IT security provider, today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Astaro, a privately held provider of network security solutions, headquartered in Massachusetts, USA and Karlsruhe, Germany.

“The combination of Astaro’s comprehensive portfolio of network security solutions alongside our endpoint, mobile, and email and web threat and data protection capabilities will enable us to continue to deliver on our vision of providing complete security without complexity wherever the user and company data resides,” stated Steve Munford, CEO, Sophos.

Astaro, with $56 million in billings and 30 percent year over year growth in 2010, is the fourth largest dedicated unified threat management (UTM) provider, has sustained fast growth due to its strong track record of innovation and robust portfolio of feature rich network security solutions. With over 56,000 installations in over 60 countries, Astaro has implemented its solution into business and government networks against IT security threats. The company currently has more than 220 employees in nine countries spanning three continents, including a significant presence in the EMEA region.

“We are excited to join forces with Sophos, as we share a common mission and passion for providing the most comprehensive security solutions that are also easy to use. Together, we will deliver to customers the ability to apply consistent security and web and application controls regardless of where the user is or where the network boundary may lie,” stated Jan Hichert, CEO, Astaro.

This transaction is expected to bring two complementary security portfolios together to deliver coordinated protection and policy between endpoint and network. Solutions will offer complete protection to meet complex threats and malware challenges, especially from the web, applications and social engineering vectors that require full visibility and coordination, supported by SophosLabs and renowned malware and threat expertise. The acquisition will offer partners a complete and differentiated range of security solutions and services to meet customer needs not answered in the market today. Partners can deliver coordinated threat and data protection, and policy from any endpoint to any network boundary with solutions that can be deployed in any way: software, virtual, appliance, via a cloud services platform and backed by security updates from Sophos Live Protection for real-time, high-performance protection for end users no matter where they are.