Symantec To Acquire Altiris

Under the terms of the deal, Symantec will pay Altiris shareholders approximately $33 per share. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter, according to Cupertino, Calif.-based Symantec.

"By combining the endpoint management solutions from Altiris with the security expertise from Symantec, we believe we can offer customers a more comprehensive solution to protect and manage the millions of connected devices that make up the fabric of today's global IT infrastructure," said John Thompson, chairman and CEO of Symantec.

Like many of its traditional rivals in the security market, Symantec facing a looming threat from Microsoft, whose new Vista operating system takes significant steps toward the commoditization of the client-based antivirus products that vendors like Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro and others have made their bread and butter.

With the acquisition of Lindon, Utah-based Altiris, Symantec will have the tools to further diversify into a broad, IT network management vendor with products that address security plus storage, client management and remote managed services.

In July 2005, Symantec purchased Veritas Software, a maker of IT storage management applications.