Security firm Symantec has agreed to acquire VeriSign’s identity and authentication business for $1.28bn in cash, in a move to strengthen its position as the source for protecting information and identities online.
The acquisition includes VeriSign’s Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate Services, the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Services, the VeriSign Trust Services and the VeriSign Identity Protection (VIP) Authentication Service.
Under the terms of the agreement, Symantec will purchase specific assets from VeriSign, including the majority stake in VeriSign Japan. Symantec expects the transaction to be 9 cents dilutive to non-GAAP earnings per share in fiscal year 2011, due to the purchase price accounting write down of deferred revenue, and accretive to non-GAAP earnings per share in the September 2011 quarter.
Symantec said that the acquisition can help businesses incorporate identity security into a comprehensive framework, enabling IT to adopt new computing models from cloud computing to social networking and mobile computing to user-owned devices.
The combination of VeriSign’s SSL Certificate Services with Symantec Critical System Protection or Protection Suite for Servers will help organisations ensure a higher level of security on their web servers as well as verify that security, the company claims.
Enrique Salem, president and CEO, Symantec, said: “With the combined products and reach from Symantec and VeriSign, we are poised to drive the adoption of identity security as the means to provide simple and secure access to anything from anywhere, to prevent identity fraud and to make online experiences more user-friendly and hassle-free.”
The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the September quarter.
