Symantec to acquire Veritas?

Just in time for Christmas?

Symantec may be close to acquiring data storage firm Veritas, according to reports circulating on the Internet.

AV firm Symantec, which has something of a reputation for making regular acquisitions, is reported to be close to handing over a whopping sum of more than $13 billion for the data storage firm.

In fact, should this acquisition be completed successfully, it would be one of the largest ever in the software industry. However, investors have not responded well, and Symantec's shares dropped by 16 per cent earlier this week.

Some industry analysts have raised the question of whether such an acquisition is indicative of instability in the IT security sector. Donovan Gow, an analyst at American Technology Research, told Associated Press: 'For [Symantec] to be taking such a huge step away from security ... it does not intuitively strike me as a positive sign for the security space over all.'

So far, Symantec has refused to comment on what it calls 'rumour and speculation'.

15 December 2004

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