SYMC Symantec Corporation

By WSJ City 

Broadcom is nearing a deal to buy Symantec's enterprise business after its attempted purchase of the entire cybersecurity firm fell apart. The deal could value the Symantec division at around $10bn, people familiar said.Shares of Symantec spiked after the market closed Wednesday, rising 13% to $23.15 after The Wall Street Journal reported on the latest deal talks. They have since hit $23.30.

KEY FACTS

   -- A deal could be announced as early as Thursday, when Symantec reports its 
      results. 
 
   -- But talks could still fall apart or the time frame could be extended. 
 
   -- The unit serves businesses and accounts for roughly half of Symantec's 
      $5bn in annual revenue. 
 
   -- Broadcom wants to focus on diversifying beyond its core chip business and 
      push into software. 
 
   -- The deal would be big for Symantec. Its market value is about $12.6bn but 
      it has more than $2bn of net debt. 
 
   -- It has had a string of difficulties in recent years, including accounting 
      issues and executive departures. 

Why This Matters

Deals between chip makers and cybersecurity companies haven't always produced the desired results. Intel bought McAfee in 2010 for $7.68bn. McAfee's security products never combined with Intel's hardware to generate the revenue Intel had hoped for.

Meanwhile technology has been the busiest sector for mergers and acquisitions world-wide this year, as companies jockey for position in a rapidly changing industry landscape. There have been $455.9bn of tech deals so far this year, up from $397.2bn in the same period of 2018, according to Dealogic.

A fuller story is available on WSJ.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 08, 2019 07:19 ET (11:19 GMT)

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