Symantec Reportedly in Talks to Sell Veritas Storage Unit

Software security company Symantec Corp is in talks to sell its Veritas data storage business to private equity firm Carlyle Group LP, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The exact status of the talks could not be learned. Bloomberg News reported earlier that Symantec was nearing a deal to sell Veritas to Carlyle for between $7 billion (roughly Rs. 44,473 crores) and $8 billion (roughly Rs. 50,827 crores), citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The Reuters source asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Symantec did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Carlyle declined to comment.

Symantec shares rose 2.64 percent in after-hours trading, after closing up 0.5 percent, at $22.79, in regular trade on the Nasdaq.

Symantec has been seeking buyers for Veritas for several months but interest from potential buyers had been limited because of a tax burden associated with splitting the company.

Symantec had been planning separate its business focussed on corporate and consumer security software, which had $4.2 billion (roughly Rs. 26,684 crores) in revenue last year, from Veritas, which has about $2.5 billion (roughly Rs. 15,883 crores) in revenue. It announced the tax-free spinoff last October.

Investor pressure has been building on legacy technology companies such as Symantec to become more agile and capitalise on faster-growing businesses, whether it's through corporate breakups or divestitures.

In addition to Symantec, Hewlett-Packard Co and eBay Inc have announced major breakups and spinoffs, and more could be on the way. Activist investor Elliott Management has been pressuring EMC Corp to sell its stake in VMWare and has urged Citrix Systems to create more shareholder value and sell some of its businesses.

© Thomson Reuters 2015