Symantec to acquire Brightmail

The deal is worth $370M and is expected to close in July

By Todd R. Weiss

May 19, 2004 12:00 PM ET

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Computerworld - Utility software vendor Symantec Corp. today announced that it's acquiring antispam vendor Brightmail Inc. in a deal worth about $370 million in cash.
In an announcement made today after the financial markets closed, Cupertino, Calif.-based Symantec said it's buying San Francisco-based Brightmail to complement Symantec's existing gateway-security products in the fight against unsolicited commercial e-mail.
The deal is expected to close by early July, according to the company.
"Spam has increasingly become one of the most severe threats to individuals and enterprises today, topping viruses as the number one problem plaguing email systems and administrators," John W. Thompson, Symantec's chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "Brightmail is the leader in helping enterprises, service providers and wireless carriers mitigate this threat."
Symantec had already made an investment in Brightmail in 2000 and now holds an approximately 11% equity stake in the company.
Enrique Salem, Brightmail's president and CEO, said in a statement that "by joining forces with Symantec, we can provide our combined base of customers around the world with the broadest messaging security solution in the industry."
Brightmail Antivirus already combines Symantec's award-winning antivirus technology with Brightmail's own offerings, according to the companies.
Brightmail customers include Avaya Inc., eBay Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Lucent Technologies Inc.

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