Symantec gains on report that Broadcom has secured funding to acquire the cybersecurity firm

Shares of Symantec gained more than 4% at their peak on Monday after a report that Broadcom had gotten the necessary financing to acquire the cybersecurity firm in an all-cash agreement. The deal could value the cybersecurity firm at more than $22 billion including debt, Bloomberg reported.

A deal between the two companies could be reached in mid-July, according to anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg. The sources said that the chipmaker has commitments from banks in place, sees an annual synergy potential of $1.5 billion, and although there is a timeline, talks could drag or even fall apart.

Symantec spiked as much as 17% when it was first reported that Broadcom was in "advanced talks" to acquire the company. Broadcom shares declined when the deal was announced, and are trading down more than 2% Monday.

Broadcom said earlier this year that it would focus on buying software companies after its $117 billion bid to take over competitor Qualcomm was blocked by the Trump administration. Part of the reason for the shift is cost — other independent semiconductor companies are too expensive, Tom Krause, Broadcom's CFO told Morgan Stanley.

By acquiring infrastructure software companies, Broadcom hopes to take advantage of an industry it sees as ripe for consolidation. The strategy doesn't make sense to everyone — in a note, a Morgan Stanley analyst wrote that the plan to buy Symantec doesn't make sense and will raise questions about the chipmaker's strategy.

Broadcom acquired CA Technologies, another software company, for $18.9 billion in July 2018. It was also reportedly considering buying Tibco, a cloud software company, according to CNBC, although that deal would be sidelined if the company is able to acquire Symantec.

source businessinsider

Industry: Cyber Security