Symantec, the maker of Norton of antivirus software, is selling data storage company Veritas for $8 billion to focus on making products to keep hackers at bay.
The company announced the sale to a group of investors led by buyout shop Carlyle Group on Tuesday, the same day it reported double-digit declines in profit and revenue for its fiscal first quarter.
Symantec, which acquired Veritas $13.5 billion in 2005, said last fall that it would spin off Veritas. The company opted for an outright sale instead, saying the move would allow it to concentrate fully on cybersecurity.
“The sale of Veritas marks a significant inflection point for Symantec,” CEO Mike Brown said during a conference call Tuesday.
A pioneer in antivirus protection, the company is trying to reinvent itself as a major player in cybersecurity — a growing area as hackers target a broad swath of businesses — amid tough competition from Palo Alto Networks and FireEye, among others.
“The company has a major challenge to morph from its legacy anti-virus background into the higher growth, next generation cybersecurity segment,” FBR analyst Daniel Ives told The Post.
Symantec plans to pocket $6.3 billion from the sale of Veritas after taxes and other costs. The deal is expected to close Jan. 1.
On Tuesday, the company reported a profit of $117 million, or 17 cents a share, down 59 percent from $236 million, or 34 cents, a year ago. Revenue fell 14 percent to $1.5 billion.
Symantec also boosted its share repurchase program to $2.6 billion.