Symantec approached by Thoma Bravo for massive buyout deal

Cyber security major Symantec Group has entered discussions with buyout major Thoma Bravo for a potential buyout.

The deal has the potential to be largest leveraged buyout transaction of the year, due to the company’s close to $15bn market value and total debt of around $5bn. It is not certain whether the discussions will lead to a deal, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

News reports on Tuesday saw the company’s shares jump in value by as much as 18 per cent.

Symantec provides cyber security services and owns antivirus software brand Norton, which is used by more than 50 million people alongside identity theft protection company LifeLock. The company also operates one of the world’s largest civilian cyber intelligence networks, according to its website.

Back in 2016 Silver Lake Partners invested $500m in the business shortly after PE giant Carlyle picked up the company’s Veritas data storage unit for $7.4bn.

Bain Capital is also a previous investor in Symantec and could join Silver Lake to participate in the deal as equity investors instead of exiting, one of the sources said.

Last month Thoma Bravo agreed to buy California cybersecurity business Imperva in a $2.1bn deal, before going on to agree a $950m carveout of app security testing business Veracode from Broadcom.

The software and tech-focused firm recently picked up a $200m commitment from the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System towards its $11.5bn-targeting Fund XIII, and a $150m commitment from the Florida Board of Administration.