Symantec bags VeriSign security wing for $1.28bn

Security behemoth seals third deal inside a month after agreeing biggest buy-out since Veritas merger

Salem: with the combined products and reach, we are poised to drive the adoption of identity security

Symantec has announced its third acquisition in under a month after sealing a $1.28m (£900m) deal for the security business of internet infrastructure specialist VeriSign.

The security giant has agreed a cash deal for VeriSign's identity and authentication services operations. This includes the NASDAQ-listed firm's secure socket layer certificate and public key infrastructure services, as well as the Verisign Trust Services and Identity Protection products.

Excepting Symantec's $13.5bn merger with Veritas five years ago, the VeriSign deal is the largest of its more than 60 acquisitions to date. The buy-out is expected to close during Q3 and Symantec expects it to have a dilutive effect on non-GAAP earnings for its current fiscal year.

Last month, Symantec splashed out a combined $370m for email and data encryption vendors GuardianEdge and PGP, announcing both deals on the same day.

Symantec claimed today's announcement was crucial to its "new vision of computing", which is focused on five technological concepts. These include identity security, device security, information protection, information delivery and cloud security.

Enrique Salem, chief executive of Symantec, said: "With the anonymity of the internet and the evolving threat landscape, people and organisations are struggling to maintain confidence in the security of their interactions, information and identities online. At the same time, people’s personal and professional lives have converged and they want to use their various digital devices to access information wherever they are without jeopardising their privacy.

"IT is also faced with the challenge of giving users the appropriate access, while ensuring that corporate data is not at risk. We believe the solution to this dilemma lies in the ubiquity of identity-based security. With the combined products and reach from Symantec and VeriSign, we are poised to drive the adoption of identity security as the means to provide simple and secure access to anything from anywhere, to prevent identity fraud and to make online experiences more user-friendly and hassle-free."