Citrix linked to Virtual Computer buyout

Citrix is said to be on the verge of outing itself as the new owner of desktop virtualisation vendor Virtual Computer.

It is thought the virtualisation giant is planning to announce the news of its latest purchase at its Citrix Synergy event in San Francisco, which is taking place this week.

Virtual Computer's flagship product is a PC management platform called NxTop. It is used to separate the device's hardware, operating system, applications and user data so that they can be monitored and controlled independently without the need for a network connection.

Rumours of a possible tie-up between the two firms began circulating on social networking site Twitter earlier today.

However, both parties are remaining tight-lipped, with representatives from both Virtual Computer and Citrix declining IT Pro's request for comment.

Virtual Computer has been on the vendor's radar for some time, as Citrix was one of several firms who invested $15m in it back in 2009.

If the speculation about the acquisition turns out to be true, the deal will have echoes of Citrix's buyout of SMB-focused VDI vendor Kaviza in May 2011.

Before agreeing to acquire Kaviza, Citrix had invested an unspecified amount of money in the firm the previous year.

More to follow.