The semiconductor giant is in advanced discussions to buy Symantec, which makes anti-virus software and other software security products. Any deal would most likely value Symantec at more than $15 billion
Broadcom has set its sights on acquiring a well-known name in cybersecurity software, in a further strategy shift after the Trump administration blocked it last year from purchasing another chip maker on national security grounds.
The semiconductor giant is in advanced discussions to buy Symantec, which makes anti-virus software and other products, two people briefed on the matter said Wednesday. Any deal would most likely value Symantec at more than $15 billion, they said. A transaction could be announced in the coming days, though the people warned that negotiations were still taking place and could fall apart.
A Symantec spokeswoman declined to comment, while a Broadcom representative did not immediately return a request for comment. The talks were earlier reported by Bloomberg News.
If an agreement is reached, it will underline how much Broadcom has had to change its acquisition strategy after the humbling defeat of its $117 billion bid last year to buy Qualcomm, the world’s largest maker of wireless chips. The Trump administration said it was specifically concerned that a deal for Qualcomm, an American company, would cede the nation’s primacy in the semiconductor and wireless industry and allow China to vault over the United States in next-generation wireless networks.
Since then, Broadcom has moved to buy software businesses. Last year, it agreed to buy CA Technologies, a maker of corporate software, for nearly $19 billion. And Broadcom’s chief financial officer, Tom Krause, recently told Morgan Stanley that the company would focus on buying so-called infrastructure software that powers back-end operations for businesses.
Broadcom, run by its highly acquisitive chief executive, Hock Tan, was incorporated in Singapore for most of its history before announcing that it would move its headquarters to San Jose, California, before its hostile takeover bid for Qualcomm.
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