Symantec Corp to acquire Vontu in a bid to boost its Security 2.0
06 November 2007
Cupertino: Taking another step forward in its vision for Security 2.0, global leader in infrastructure software, Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced its intention to acquire Vontu and its plans to integrate Vontu''s data loss prevention solutions into Symantec''s broader portfolio.
Symantec will pay $350 million in cash and assumed options and expects this transaction to be $0.02 dilutive to FY08 non-GAAP earnings per share and expects FY08 GAAP earnings per share to be more diluted due to purchase accounting, stock based compensation and acquisition related charges associated with the transaction. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth calendar quarter of 2007, subject to receiving regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Symantec said in a statement, "Combining Symantec''s market-leading security and storage capabilities with Vontu''s market-leading DLP technologies will create the most comprehensive Information Risk Management solution on the market."
"As part of our Security 2.0 vision, we have long been pushing a view that security should be driven by policy, focused on information and supported by a managed infrastructure," said Tom Kendra, group president, Security and Data Management Group, Symantec. "Through internal innovation and acquisition we have solutions to help companies define and implement policies, manage and protect information, and secure and manage their systems and devices. Vontu''s offerings provide insight into the information itself, the context in which it''s being used and the controls needed to prevent its loss."
With data breaches becoming more frequent, costly and regulated, it''s no surprise that data loss prevention is top of mind for IT and business leaders. A September Goldman Sachs Security Spending Survey indicates more than 50 percent of CISOs believe data leakage to be a top driver of their organization''s security spending. IDC estimates the Information Protection and Control market to reach $3.2 billion by 2011, representing a 33 percent compound annual growth rate[1].
Information
Risk Management combines threat protection and information control into an integrated
set of products, enabling organizations to keep the bad things out (information
security), to keep the important things in (data loss prevention), and to manage,
retain and find that information when needed (e-discovery).
The ability to
manage these different challenges requires a level of expertise in security and
storage that Symantec is uniquely positioned to provide. Symantec already provides
a set of products and services that enable companies to:
- Identify their areas of information risk and define the policies to mitigate those risks.
- Implement, automate and monitor controls around those policies.
- Reduce the risk of malware and spam from entering an organization.
- Protect the systems and devices where information lives, including servers, databases, storage systems, laptops and smartphones.
- Securely control access to networks and enforce endpoint security policies.
- Protect and manage information in message archives and data centers.
- Provide a real-time mechanism to aggregate, correlate and analyze behaviors.
- Conduct post-breach forensics to determine what information was lost.
