Sep 9, 2019

Private equity firms consider buying Symantec for $16 billion

Dan Primack

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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Orion Rummler

The exploding black market for counterfeit THC vaping products

E-cigarette use at Gone With the Smoke Vapor Lounge in 2016 in San Francisco, Calif. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Cannabis oils, vaping devices, packaging materials for vape products and vape products with THC are separately available on Instagram, Amazon and Facebook's Marketplace, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Why it matters: 8 people across the U.S. have died from lung-related illnesses linked to vaping, as of Sept. 20. This online marketplace "is increasingly difficult for law enforcement and tech companies to police because of the geographic distribution of users ... and the use of private accounts and messaging apps to sell illicit products," per the WSJ.

Go deeperArrowSep 21, 2019
Sara Fischer

New financial media company targets high-end individual investors

Atom Finance

Atom Finance, a new media and financial technology company, has raised $10.6 million in a Series A round, executives tell Axios. The company had previously raised $1.9 million in an unreported seed round in February.

The big picture: The news and analysis market for high-end individual investors has been difficult to corner. While there are pricey solutions for big enterprise companies, like the Bloomberg Terminal, and free solutions for casual investors, like Google Finance, Atom execs argue that there isn't one company that truly owns the middle.

Go deeperArrowOct 1, 2019
Ina Fried

Nonprofit releases new directory for reporting workplace harassment

Screenshot: Imwiththem.org

I'm With Them, a non-profit effort to reduce sexual misconduct in the workplace, has published a directory listing exactly how a worker at more than 150 companies can anonymously report sexual misconduct, fraud or other ethical violations.

Why it matters: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that companies have an anonymous system for reporting various ethics violations to a company's board, but those systems vary from company to company and aren't always easy for an employee to find.

Go deeperArrowSep 24, 2019