Symantec, the software company that produces the Norton line of computer security and maintenance products, is in talks to acquire Veritas Software, a maker of data backup and storage programs, for more than US$13 billion, executives close to the negotiations said on Monday.
The deal, which could be announced as early as this week, would create a huge competitor in the software industry that would be a one-stop shop for products to fight a wide range of threats to personal computers and corporate networks. If successfully completed, it would represent one of the largest software company mergers.
The negotiations, which have gone on for more than a month, are almost complete, the executives said. Still, they cautioned that several issues remained unresolved and that it was possible that the talks could collapse. The exact terms of the deal could not be determined.
Symantec, like its best-known competitors, McAfee and Trend Micro, is trying to become the de facto provider of software to protect networks and personal computers. This means that stopping viruses is not enough anymore: A company that wants to compete has to tackle a broader array of computing issues, including spam and newer, more intrusive threats like "spyware," which are programs that track Internet use.
Veritas Software, which was founded in 1989 and is based in Mountain View, California, is by far the leading seller of software for data backup, storage and archiving.
According to the market research firm IDC, the company has 40 percent of the market for backup and archiving software, compared with Computer Associates International's 19 percent and EMC's 12 percent. In the market for file system software, which stores and organizes data files, Veritas is the market leader by an even wider margin, with a 60 percent share. Last year, Veritas had revenue of US$1.75 billion.
Through a series of acquisitions in recent years, Veritas has transformed itself from a storage software company into a company that provides end-to-end services. It has a market capitalization of US$10.6 billion.
Symantec already has one of the best-known brands in the software business with Norton. But it has enlarged its arsenal of products in a buying spree since the second half of last year, acquiring Brightmail, ON Technology and SafeWeb -- companies that brought strengths in fighting spam and making large corporate networks operate smoothly. These acquisitions cost nearly a half-billion dollars. Symantec's US$48 million purchase of the security firm (AT)stake, announced in September, brought it expertise in security audits and risk management.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique