Security firms Marshal and 8e6 to merge

U.K.-based Marshal and U.S.-based 8e6 Technologies announced Wednesday that they are merging to create a company that will offer protection for corporate and Web-based e-mail, instant messaging, and Web surfing.

The privately held combined company--Marshal8e6--will have more than 250 employees, more than 20,000 customers, the companies said. The headquarters will be in Orange, Calif., and the international headquarters will be in Basingstoke, U.K.

The driving force behind the move is to combine complimentary products and services for a comprehensive secure Internet gateway offering, the companies said.

"This merger of equals is not a result of the current economic situation, but rather is a result of two successful companies with over $50 million in combined revenue seeing an opportunity to combine complimentary product lines and geographies to build a stronger company," 8e6 President Paul Myer said via e-mail. "In fact, 8e6 has experienced approximately 30 percent year over year growth, while Marshal has achieved approximately 40 percent growth year over year."

Executives said there were no lay offs planned.

8e6 offers an enterprise Internet filtering and Web usage monitoring appliance. Marshal sells e-mail and Web security products.