Symantec to split into separate storage and security firms

Move comes after similar announcement by HP and follows difficult few years for the security vendor

Security vendor Symantec has announced that it is to split into two, following a similar announcement by HP last week.

The two new firms will both be publicly traded with one concentrating on security and the other on storage.

On its website the US firm says:

"Symantec announced that its board of directors has unanimously approved a plan to separate the company into two, independent publicly traded companies: one business focused on security and one business focused on information management (IM). Symantec's decision to pursue a separation follows an extensive review of the company's strategy and operational structure. Creating two standalone businesses will allow each entity to maximize its respective growth opportunities and drive greater shareholder value."

CEO Michael A. Brown adds:

"Taking this decisive step forward will enable each business to maximize its potential. Both businesses will have substantial operational and financial scale to thrive."

The security side of business generated revenue of $4.2bn (£2.6bn) in fiscal year 2014, and Symantec says the ongoing business will include: consumer and enterprise endpoint security; endpoint management; encryption; mobile; Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates; user authentication; mail, web and data centre security; data loss prevention; hosted security; and managed security services.

The storage side, dubbed the Information Management Business, will comprise: backup and recovery; archiving; eDiscovery; storage management; and information availability solutions. In total this side of Symantec generated $2.5bn (£1.6bn) in fiscal year 2014.

Symantec has been affected by the slowdown in PC sales and has struggled to compete in the new mobile-based world.

This year saw the company's revenue fall three per cent to $6.7bn (£4.1bn), while operating income dropped by nearly 20 per cent.