SonicWall goes it alone as Elliott and pal swallow Dell/Quest Software

Dell-owned infosec outfit SonicWall is to stand on its own two feet as Elliott Management and Francisco Partners slurp the remains of the artists formerly known as Dell Software Group.

The rumours of Dell Software’s sale were confirmed back in June, with the deal being thought to be worth around $2bn.

SonicWall, formerly a Dell-owned security firm, is being spun out as a standalone business. Infosec man Bill Conner, a one-time chief of Silent Circle, will be SonicWall’s CEO.

“SonicWall is a trusted partner to its customers and channel partners in 40 countries worldwide and is laser focused on innovating next-generation network security,” burbled Dipanjan “DJ” Deb, Francisco Partners’ CEO, in a canned quote.

Meanwhile, Quest Software, which is the rebranded and flogged-off Dell Software Group minus SonicWall, is set to begin a wave of layoffs, as sources familiar with the matter told The Register in October. We also understand that the Foglight app monitoring tools will be discontinued – and that this runs counter to what Elliott wants the world to think now the deal has completed.

Jeff Hawn, the new CEO at Quest, "has a policy that he does not discontinue any products", El Reg was told. "Foglight will continue to be a product in the Quest family." ®