Symantec To Acquire Brightmail
May 19, 2004 – Symantec Corp., the global leader in information security, today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Brightmail, the worldwide leader in anti-spam technology, in a cash transaction valued at approximately $370 million. Brightmail’s market-leading anti-spam technology will be a key complement to Symantec’s broad array of gateway security solutions.
The acquisition, conditioned upon customary regulatory approval, is expected to close by early July. It is too early to estimate the impact of intangibles on GAAP results from this transaction. As such, Symantec intends to discuss the impact, if any, on GAAP and non-GAAP results at some point in the future.
“Spam has increasingly become one of the most severe threats to individuals and enterprises today, topping viruses as the number one problem plaguing email systems and administrators,” said John W. Thompson, Symantec chairman and chief executive officer. “Brightmail is the leader in helping enterprises, service providers, and wireless carriers mitigate this threat. Their patented technology is a critical component of a comprehensive gateway security solution.”
“We’ve built a complete spam defense offering that includes multiple technologies such as proactive heuristic and reputation-based blocking for the most robust, multi-layered defense, providing the highest accuracy rating in the industry, ” said Enrique Salem, Brightmail president and chief executive officer. “By joining forces with Symantec, we can provide our combined base of customers around the world with the broadest messaging security solution in the industry.”
Brightmail’s industry-leading anti-spam technology protects the networks of enterprises, service providers, and wireless carriers by filtering spam, viruses and undesired messages at the Internet gateway. Brightmail Anti-SpamTM uses multiple proprietary technologies, a globally deployed detection network, and a dynamic rule delivery mechanism to identify and filter unsolicited or unwanted electronic messages while reducing the number of blocked legitimate e-mails, or false positives, to less than one message in a million.
Brightmail Anti-Virus(tm) already combines Symantec’s award-winning antivirus technology with Brightmail’s high-performance, scalable architecture. By stopping and cleaning infected messages at the Internet gateway, Brightmail Anti-Virus is the solution for the world’s largest service providers to protect their networks and end-users from the threat of email-borne viruses.
The Brightmail Reputation Service complements its anti-spam product, providing businesses with an additional level of security against messaging security threats by allowing them to block messages from identified spam sources. Brightmail Anti-Fraud protects established businesses from fraudulent e-mails that mimic legitimate communications in order to steal financial or personal data.
Symantec made a strategic investment in Brightmail in July 2000 and currently holds an approximately 11 percent equity stake in the company. Subsequent to the filing of a registration statement in March 2004 for an initial public offering, Brightmail’s board of directors and stockholders determined the combination with Symantec to be a more favorable strategic alternative.
About Brightmail
Brightmail, the global anti-spam market leader delivers technology that makes messaging environments secure and manageable. PC Magazine’s EDITORS CHOICE for best enterprise anti-spam software, Brightmail Anti-Spam protects the email networks of businesses, government agencies, and service providers, blocking unsolicited bulk email, or “spam”, while assuring that legitimate mail is reliably delivered. Brightmail protects over 1,800 enterprises globally, including Avaya, eBay, Bechtel, Booz Allen Hamilton, Cisco, Cypress Semiconductors, Deutsche Bank, Eastman, Lucent Technologies, Macromedia, Microsoft, Motorola, SAS and Terra Lycos. Brightmail also provides spam protection for the leading Internet service providers, including AT&T WorldNet, Cox Communications, EarthLink, MSN, TelstraClear, Xtra and Verizon Online. Brightmail now protects approximately 300 million mailboxes worldwide. For more information, visit www.brightmail.com.
About Symantec
Symantec is the global leader in information security providing a broad range of software, appliances and services designed to help individuals, small and mid-sized businesses, and large enterprises secure and manage their IT infrastructure. Symantec’s Norton brand of products is the worldwide leader in consumer security and problem-solving solutions. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has operations in more than 35 countries. More information is available at http://www.symantec.com.
Brightmail Board of Directors’ Quotes
“This is a tremendous win for Brightmail. It is not everyday that two industry leaders join forces like this. The combination of the two companies will be an impressive force in the security space.”
Eric W. Spivey
Chairman of Brightmail
“Merging with Symantec reaffirms the vision we had when we founded Brightmail six years ago. We saw a business opportunity in protecting email users from the threat of spam and that opportunity has been realized.”
Sunil Paul
Founder of Brightmail
“The merger with Symantec is a demonstration of the value that Brightmail has created with its market-leading technology. The company has partnered with Symantec for many years and the merger will offer the market a great partnership of leading technologies.”
Bud Colligan
Director of Brightmail
“As spam has continued to consume a greater portion of inboxes over the last couple of years, Brightmail seized the opportunity and created a very strong and formidable company. Symantec recognized the value of the business that Brightmail has built and saw an opportunity to bring a stronger security offering to the market by to joining forces.”
Jake Reynolds
Director of Brightmail