Symantec Said to Be Considering Sale of Its Web Certificates Business

Cyber-security firm Symantec is considering selling its website certification business, in a deal that could fetch more than $1 billion (roughly Rs. 6,457 crores) and extricate it from a feud with Alphabet Inc's Google, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Google said in March that it was investigating Symantec's failure to properly validate its certificates, which confirm that websites can be trusted. Symantec has called Google's claims "exaggerated and misleading."

Symantec is in talks with a small number of companies and private equity firms about the potential sale, three sources said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential. There is no certainty that a deal will occur, the sources added.

Symantec declined to comment. A representative for Google did not respond to a request for comment.

Symantec acquired most of its Web certification business in 2010, when it paid $1.28 billion to buy Verisign's security business. The unit has about $400 million in revenue, according to one of the sources.

Symantec said in June it was reviewing a proposal by Google and other Internet companies to help fix issues with its security certificates. It said it is speaking to its partners about how to minimise disruptions to customers while also "reassuring trust in Symantec certificates."

Chief Executive Officer Greg Clark has been transforming Mountain View, California-based Symantec by jettisoning slow-growth units and spending billions of dollars on acquisitions. It has been moving away from services that are more commoditised, selling its data storage business Veritas in January 2016 to private equity firm Carlyle Group for $7.4 billion.

Symantec completed its $2.3 billion acquisition of LifeLock in February, a move that will bolster its consumer security business. That followed the purchase of Blue Coat for $4.65 billion in August 2016, which expanded its product line for large corporations.

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