Broadcom Makes Progress on Symantec Deal With Financing and Savings

Broadcom has secured financing and identified cost savings for the acquisition of Symantec, according to Bloomberg. An all-cash deal could value the cybersecurity firm at more than $22 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.

The chipmaker received lending commitments from several banks and sees annual synergy potential of about $1.5 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified. An agreement could be reached around mid-July, though the talks could also still drag on or fall apart, the people said.

Separately, Symantec has drawn interest from its former CEO, Greg Clark, who has teamed up with buyout firms Advent International and Permira Holdings in an attempt to muster a competing offer, said the people. The group so far has been unable to compete on price with Broadcom, making the pursuit a long shot, they said.

A takeover of Symantec would mark Broadcom’s second big bet in software, following its $18 billion purchase last year of CA Technologies. That transaction spurred some investors to express concern that CEO Hock Tan’s acquisition strategy was being stretched too far after playing a key role in consolidating in the $470 billion chip industry.