LogMeIn acquires LastPass for $110 million

With us living more of our lives online and using an increased amount of personal information in digital forms, data security is becoming a big business. So it should surprise no one that LogMeIn, a company specializing in remote access, would fork over big bucks to acquire the password manager and online security suite LastPass.

In addition to the cool $110 million LogMeIn handed over to acquire LastPass, the buying company set aside a $15 million to pay to LastPass over the course of the next two years under the condition that LastPass meets certain checkpoints and milestones.

Although the deal is not finalized, its expected to close in the next few weeks.

This could be a big deal for both LogMeIn and LastPass. LogMeIn stands to benefit because recent data compromises that have been making headlines for a variety of companies and services. This has made a fair number of potential customers leery of services like LogMeIn, that require the user to hand over personal information. LastPass is currently competing with 1Password, Dashlane, and a slew of other utilities, so LogMeIn’s involvement and financial investment could give them the boost they need to rise above their competitors.

LogMeIn reports that their interest in LastPass stemmed from their desire to ensure the security of their access management systems and client identity protection.  This is especially important to LogMeIn since the company has been systematically adding new business ventures to its portfolio over the past few years, expanding their services from mere remote access tools to cloud storage, online meetings, and backup utilities.

LogMeIn claims that they intend to involve LastPass’s capabilities with Meldium, LogMeIn’s identity management investment that is still in its early stages. Meldium and LastPass will are planned to exist as separate entities going forward, but the two companies will be working in tandem to develop and improve both of their services.