Business

Symantec may get calls to split

Computer-security software firm Symantec may have to field calls for a breakup of the company.

According to one source, activist shareholders have been scooping up shares of Symantec — the maker of Norton antivirus software — and may pressure the company to split up. The activists have also been speaking to suitors and other large shareholders.

“They feel the whole company is hugely undervalued,” the source said.

Symantec will get a heads up on Nov. 15, when new investors with between 1 and 5 percent ownership will be required to disclose their positions under regulatory rules.

A leading shareholder said Symantec, whose stock is down 7 percent this year, could fetch $22 to $26 in a breakup. The shares rose 1.3 percent to $16.57 yesterday. Symantec’s market cap is close to $13 billion.

The company held its last shareholder meeting in September. But investors holding 25 percent or more of the stock can call for a special meeting at any time.

Symantec may spin off units because the outright sale of a division would result in a big tax hit, a source said, adding that the expectation would be that suitors would buy these divisions within a year of being spun out.

Symantec is seen as vulnerable after it struggled with the integration of storage maker Veritas Software, which it acquired for $10.5 billion in 2005.

The company also faces tougher competition after computer-chip giant Intel agreed to buy security-software rival McAfee for $7.6 billion, leaving Symantec as the last sizable independent security company.

“The moment rival McAfee got sold, they should have considered shopping themselves around,” the source said.

Symantec declined to comment.