Symantec closes in on Veritas

Although the deal was valued at $13.5bn when the companies announced their intention to merge last December, uncertainty over the wisdom of that decision has slowed progress and has meant that the final valuation is likely to be in the region of $10.5bn. Oracle’s protracted capture of PeopleSoft, completed early this year, was worth about $10.6bn.

Symantec sees the merger underlining the drive towards supplier rationalisation and the need for integration between data backup and security.

“Customers are looking to reduce the complexity and cost of managing their IT infrastructure and drive efficiency with fewer suppliers,” said Symantec chief executive John Thompson in a statement issued at the time of the original merger agreement.

“The new Symantec will help customers balance the need to both secure their information and make it available, thus ensuring its integrity,” he added.

Although almost 95 percent of Symantec and about 98 percent of Veritas shareholders approved the merger, some observers are still not convinced it is a good idea.

“It’s a risky deal,” said Mike Dalton, European president of rival security firm McAfee. “It brings together an edge of network consumer brand in security with a corporate datacentre firm. Storage and security buying responsibilities tend to be separate.”

Symantec is next week expected to set out detailed plans for integrating the two companies.