Sep 9, 2019

Private equity firms consider buying Symantec for $16 billion

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Advent International and Permira approached Symantec about a $16 billion takeover offer, one month after Symantec agreed to sell its enterprise business to Broadcom for $10.7 billion, as first reported by WSJ.

Why it matters: Symantec is the world's largest cybersecurity company.

  • Backdrop: Broadcom originally looked at buying all of Symantec itself for $28.25 per share, but then discovered something during due diligence that caused it to change course and cut price.
  • The bottom line, per WSJ's Cara Lombardo and Dana Cimilluca: "It couldn't be learned how exactly this deal would work and it is far from guaranteed it will happen. If it does, it could involve the firms buying Symantec and proceeding with the sale to Broadcom or waiting for the enterprise deal to close and then acquiring the consumer unit, which includes Norton antivirus and LifeLock identity-theft-protection products." ⁠

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