Mergers, Acquisitions and Takeovers Case Study

Symantec's Takeover of VERITAS : A Strategic Success?

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Abstract:
On December 16 th 2004, leading security software maker Symantec Corporation announced the takeover of data storage solutions company VERITAS Corporation. Both the companies were confident about the success of the deal and expected it to be mutually beneficial. However, competitors and software industry analysts were sceptical regarding the success of the deal.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To highlight the reasons behind the takeover
• To provide insights into the possible advantages and challenges for the combined entity
• To discuss whether the takeover would be a strategic success.

Keywords : Symantec Corporation;Mergers,Acquisitions,Alliances Case Study; VERITAS Software Corporation; Information technology services; Software services industry; Merger of equals and industry consolidation; John W Thomson and Gary L Bloom; Takeover cost synergies and strategic fit; Microsoft Corporation; Security and data storage software; Network management products; EMC, CA, HP, IBM, Sun, McAfee, Cisco; Risk of execution failure; Cross-cultural competence; Common management interface; Norton and VERITAS brands

Contents : 
Symantec and VERITAS – Backgrounds
Symantec’s Takeover of VERITAS
Takeover –A Strategic Success?
VERITAS Software Corporation’s Competitors