Symantec Confirms Split

It's official – Symantec is going to split up into two firms, as the buzz from the rumour mongers indicated earlier this week.

Symantec has announced that it will become two separate companies, with one half representing the security side of the business, and the other information management – in other words, data storage and recovery – Forbes reports.

Symantec is, of course, famous for its Norton range of internet security products, but also offers a number of cyber-security services.

The move comes as no surprise, and as we mentioned, the details of the split were actually aired earlier this week. Symantec hasn't been doing very well lately, and has seen its revenue drop thanks partly to the slump in the PC market and associated software sales. Back in the spring, activist investors were already on the march, and Symantec had to enlist the help of major banks to defend against them.

Michael Brown, Symantec's president and CEO, commented: "As the security and storage industries continue to change at an accelerating pace, Symantec's security and IM businesses each face unique market opportunities and challenges. It has become clear that winning in both security and information management requires distinct strategies, focused investments and go-to market innovation."

"Separating Symantec into two, independent publicly traded companies will provide each business the flexibility and focus to drive growth and enhance shareholder value."

The news follows another two high-profile separations announced in the past fortnight – namely eBay spinning off PayPal, and HP's decision to split into consumer PC/Printer and corporate hardware and services divisions.