Real estate: Fortinet collects Sunnyvale property, signaling future expansion

SUNNYVALE — Fortinet has bought a half-century-old commercial building near its headquarters in Sunnyvale, fresh evidence that the tech company is eyeing further expansion around its main campus.

The cybersecurity tech company, whose profits and sales are rising swiftly, has been busy collecting an array of sites in Sunnyvale next to and near its current headquarters at 899 Kifer Road.

The most recent purchase was an office building at 159 San Lazaro Road in Sunnyvale, according to documents filed with Santa Clara County officials on Feb. 12.

The building totals about 6,600 square feet, commercial real estate listing services show.

Fortinet paid $2.96 million for the building, according to public records. The transaction was an all-cash purchase.

It’s possible that the sellers harvested a hefty profit from the sale to Fortinet. The assessed value of the building was listed at roughly $743,000.

This is far from the only purchase by Fortinet in the area. From 2012 through early 2021, Fortinet spent $80 million buying up sites large and small in the vicinity of its current head offices.

In 2012, Fortinet paid about $25 million for its current headquarters at 899 Kifer Road in Sunnyvale. But that was just the beginning of the company’s property purchases.

The network security software and services firm is also constructing a modern office building at the northwest corner of Kifer Road and Commercial Street.

Fortinet doesn’t break out its employee count in Sunnyvale. However, worldwide, the company’s workforce has expanded briskly of late.

At the end of 2019, Fortinet employed 7,082 workers worldwide. As of the end of September 2020, the company’s headcount was 8,075, an increase of nearly 1,000 workers, or 14%.