Veritas/Symantec deal creates behemoth
Giants make definitive agreement to merge in $13.5bn deal
Software giants Symantec and Veritas have entered into a definitive agreement to merge, in a deal valued at around $13.5bn.
Together, the two firms will form a security and storage software behemoth, gunning for rivals such as EMC, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Computer Associates (CA).
Under the agreement, which was unanimously approved by both boards of directors, John Thompson, chief executive of Symantec, will continue as chief executive and chairman of the combined company. Gary Bloom, chief executive of Veritas, will become vice-chairman and president. The company will operate under the Symantec name.
Thompson claimed: "This is an important event not just for our firms, but for the industry at large. It has created the largest, fastest-growing and most efficient software company in the world.
"This is not a typical merger; it is about two market leaders coming together with compatible strategies. We have no overlap in product lines or R&D."
Mark Bregman, chief technology officer at Veritas, added: "This is a positive opportunity for the channel to handle both sets of products, and deal with a single larger player."
Alan Shah, senior manager at Symantec distributor NetCom, was positive about the news. "The product sets complement each other and will benefit the channel. The combination of the two will be stronger than the separate companies," he said.
Jon Collins, principal analyst at Quocirca, said: "Most acquisitions are done to knock out the competition, so they could be getting together to take out the larger players, such as CA."
Rick Terry, general manager at Veritas reseller Kingswell, was surprised. "I would have expected Veritas to be swallowed by a hardware vendor. It will be interesting to see if it strengthens our partner relationships," he said.
CA declined to comment.