Symantec to sell Veritas to Carlyle-led group for $ 8 billion

Reuters: Norton antivirus maker Symantec Corp said it would sell its data storage business, Veritas, for $ 8 billion in cash to a group including Carlyle Group LP and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC.

Symantec said it expected to receive about $6.3 billion in net cash proceeds from the deal, which is expected to close by 1 January.

The company also raised its buyback program by $ 1.5 billion to $ 2.6 billion.

Reuters reported earlier on Tuesday that Symantec would sell Veritas to Carlyle. Separately, the antivirus maker’s quarterly revenue fell 13.6 % to $ 1.5 billion, hurt mainly by lower demand for consumer security products.

Symantec had been planning to separate its business focused on corporate and consumer security software from Veritas and it announced a tax-free spinoff last October.

The company, whose software comes bundled with PCs, has been struggling with weak sales.

Sluggish demand for storage and data management software has also diminished the value of Veritas, which was seen as a “cash cow” when Symantec bought it for $ 13.5 billion in 2005.