Cybersecurity company Symantec Corporation (
Symantec) has announced it is to acquire advanced web security solutions provider Blue Coat Systems, Inc. (Blue Coat). Symantec, which has headquarters in Mountain View, California, is a globally recognized cybersecurity brand. The company is best known for antivirus and malware protection software but its products and services extend to encryption, identity protection, authentication, and cyber threat protection. Established in 1982, it operates in 39 countries. Acquiring Blue Coat will cost the company in the region of $4.6 billion in what has been reported as a cash deal.
Blue Coat, which has headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, United States, bills itself as “the #1 market share leader and share gainer in web security”. The company’s services extend to a Cloud Generation Security platform that caters to around 15,000 customers globally. Symantec’s acquisition of Blue Coat strengthens its position as a cybersecurity leader. The companies will combine their networks and cloud security offerings to offer even more robust protection against a greater range of cyber threats. Combined the companies will also offer a “formidable scale of investment in cyber R&D and threat research”.
“With this transaction, we will have the scale, portfolio and resources necessary to usher in a new era of innovation designed to help protect large customers and individual consumers against insider threats and sophisticated cybercriminals,” explained Symantec’s Chairman Dan Schulman. “Together, we will be best positioned to address the ever-evolving threat landscape, the massive changes introduced by the shift to mobile and cloud, and the challenges created by regulatory and privacy concerns. Greg and the entire Blue Coat leadership team have done an exceptional job of strengthening, growing and scaling their business. In addition to a proven track record of delivering scale and profitable growth, Greg brings significant leadership experience, deep security expertise and a history of successfully integrating companies into a single portfolio; he is the right person to lead Symantec as we advance our position as the leader in cybersecurity.”
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