Guidance Software has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Tableau, LLC, a privately-held developer and manufacturer of computer forensic hardware for the law enforcement, legal and corporate communities, for $US12.3 million in cash

Guidance Software gains access to a family of data-acquisition products -- tools to gather evidence and other data -- including multiple "write blocker" products, forensic duplicators and other hardware.

Write-blockers protect data while it is being collected during the computer forensic process, eliminating any risk of changing the data -- especially useful in criminal cases and other legal investigations. Tableau has sold more than 100,000 write-blockers since the company's inception. Forensic duplicators provide an efficient and forensically sound way to copy data being used in a computer forensics investigation.

"Tableau is, by far, the leader in forensic hardware, and their products complement our industry-leading EnCase Forensic software," said Victor Limongelli, president and chief executive officer, Guidance Software.

"The acquisition serves our key strategic aim to strengthen our leadership position in the computer forensics market. Customers should benefit from a broadened product line addressing the complete forensic process, with improved interoperability and best-in-class performance."

Guidance Software also has created a forensic business unit, headed by former President of Tableau Robert Botchek.