News
Symantec to Buy Anti-Spam Vendor
- By Scott Bekker
- May 19, 2004
Security giant Symantec Corp. on Wednesday said it will buy Brightmail, a six-year-old anti-spam company, for $370 million in a cash deal expected to close by early July.
Symantec positioned Brightmail's anti-spam technology as a complement to Symantec's gateway security products. "Spam has increasingly become one of the most severe threats to individuals and enterprises today, topping viruses as the number one problem plaguing e-mail systems and administrators," John W. Thompson, Symantec chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "[Brightmail's] technology is a critical component of a comprehensive gateway security solution.
Symantec was already a major investor in Brightmail and some Brightmail products included Symantec technology. Symantec's strategic investment in Brightmail started in 2000, and Symantec's holdings amount to an 11 percent stake in the company.
Brightmail Anti-Spam combines proprietary technologies, a globally deployed detection network and a rule delivery mechanism to block spam. The company has 1,800 enterprise customers worldwide, including Cisco, eBay and Microsoft.
Its Brightmail Anti-Virus already combined Symantec's antivirus technology with the Brightmail architecture. Another product, the Brightmail Reputation Service can be layered above Brightmail Anti-Spam to give customers the added protection of blocking e-mail from known spam sources.
About the Author
Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.