Huawei to pay $530 million to buy out Symantec's stake in JV
15 Nov 2011
China's Huawei Technologies, the world's second largest telecommunication equipment maker, yesterday said that it will buy Symantec Corp's 49-per cent stake in their joint venture Huawei Symantec Technologies, for $530 million.
The Hong Kong-based JV was formed in 2008 to integrate Huawei's telecommunications equipment technology with Symantec storage and security software and provide security solutions for corporations.
It has research and development centres in China in Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou. Symantec owns 49 per cent of Huawei Symantec Technologies, while Huawei holds 51 per cent.
The proposed acquisition has not come as a surprise to analysts since most of the employees in Huawei Symantec Technologies are from Huawei and the JV stipulates that one of the companies could eventually take control of the three-year-old JV.
Post sale, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012, Symantec, the largest maker of computer-security software, will receive royalties from Huawei for seven years and the few Symantec employees who worked for the JV will move to Symantec.
Mountain View-based Symantec, the maker of Norton anti virus software said that it will still maintain its own business in China, which includes two research and development centers, and its own appliance business.