Symantec completes sale of Veritas, now singularly focused on cybersecurity

 Mountain View, CA-based Symantec Corp. announced on January 29 that it has completed the sale of Veritas to a group of investors led by The Carlyle Group. In connection with the closing of the transaction, Symantec received approximately $5.3 billion in after-tax cash proceeds.

Symantec is on track to return more than $4 billion in capital to its shareholders by the end of March 2017. This capital return includes:

• A $500 million accelerated share repurchase completed in January 2016;
• $1.8 billion remaining at the end of the Company’s third quarter from its previously announced share repurchase program; and
• The additional $2 billion of capital return that the Board announced today.

Michael Brown, Symantec president and CEO, said, “Symantec now has a clear path forward as the global leader in cybersecurity. With the Veritas transaction completed, Symantec has the increased financial flexibility to maximize shareholder value through returning significant capital to shareholders and to consider acquisition opportunities that will accelerate our unified security strategy.”

Source: Symantec