A Raspberry Pi chip made by Broadcom. Image: HandmadePicture/Depositphotos
Broadcom has made a number of significant acquisitions over the last few years but is now set to buy Symantec’s enterprise division.
In a deal that is considered to be one of the largest in cybersecurity history, chipmaker Broadcom announced last Thursday (8 August) that its plans to acquire Symantec’s enterprise division.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Symantec said that the company had entered a definitive agreement to sell its enterprise security assets to Broadcom for $10.7bn in cash. Symantec said that the deal is expected to close before the end of the calendar year.
According to Forbes, the figure of $10.7bn is 36 times the enterprise division’s operating income for fiscal year 2019.
Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said: “This transaction not only expands Broadcom’s infrastructure software footprint, but also strengthens our position as one of the world’s leading infrastructure technology companies, both in hardware and software.
“We plan to incorporate the Symantec brand into the Broadcom portfolio, while Symantec’s consumer business will remain separate and will be rebranded.”
Last month, Reuters reported that Symantec had walked away from a deal in which Broadcom had offered to buy all of the company’s operations, but the two parties have now come to a new agreement.
Symantec’s interim president and CEO, Rick Hill, said: “This is a transformative transaction that should maximise immediate value to our shareholders while maintaining ownership in a pure play consumer cyber safety business with predictability, growth and strong, consistent profitability.
“In addition, it allows the enterprise security business to grow and compete on an enterprise platform with a worldwide sales and distribution reach, which can service our existing customers.”
Over the last three years, Broadcom has made a number of significant acquisitions. In December 2017, the company acquired Brocade for $5.9bn and last year it bought CA Technologies for $18.9bn.
The company also made a $117bn bid to buy rival chipmaker Qualcomm, but this deal was shut down by Donald Trump due to national security concerns.
A Raspberry Pi chip made by Broadcom. Image: HandmadePicture/Depositphotos
