WASHINGTON, Aug 9, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Broadcom announced plans Thursday to
buy the enterprise unit of cybersecurity firm Symantec Corp. for $10.7
billion in a move to further diversify the US semiconductor maker.
The all-cash deal was revealed after reports that Broadcom’s efforts to buy
Symantec in its entirety had stalled.
The purchase gives Broadcom, a company which returned to the United States
after relocating to Singapore, a range of security software to go along with
its hardware offerings.
“This transaction represents the next logical step in our strategy
following our acquisitions of (networking firm) Brocade and (IT management
software firm) CA Technologies,” said Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan.
“Symantec’s enterprise security business is recognized as an established
leader in the growing enterprise security space and has developed some of the
world’s most powerful defense solutions that protect against today’s evolving
threat landscape and secure data from endpoint to cloud.”
Symantec said the deal would allow it to focus its efforts on consumer
security products.
“This is a transformative transaction that should maximize immediate value
to our shareholders while maintaining ownership in a pure play consumer cyber
safety business with predictability, growth and strong consistent
profitability,” said Rick Hill, Symantec interim president and CEO.
“It also allows our Norton LifeLock business, a world-recognized leader in
consumer and small business cyber safety to operate independently and give
investors a clear understanding of the growth opportunity and strong
financial performance.”
Broadcom failed last year, while it was still based in Singapore, in a
hostile takeover attempt of US mobile chip giant Qualcomm after the White
House blocked the deal on national security grounds.