Symantec acquires identity theft protection services vendor LifeLock for US$2.3 billion

Symantec said it was acquiring US identity theft protection services company LifeLock Inc for an enterprise value of US$2.3 billion.

It expects to finance the transaction with cash on balance sheet and US$750 million of new debt, Symantec said in a statement. Reuters first reported earlier on Sunday that Symantec was in the lead to acquire LifeLock.

The deal will expand Symantec's consumer offerings after its US$4.65 billion purchase of Blue Coat in August, which helps companies maintain security over the internet. It would also represent a victory for activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp, which had pushed LifeLock to explore its options.

Symantec said the LifeLock deal is not expected to have a material impact on its financial results next year, and reaffirmed its fiscal year 2017 and 2018 guidance.

Based in Arizona, LifeLock offers services such as monitoring new account openings and credit-related applications in order to alert consumers about unauthorised use of their identity. It also works with government agencies, merchants and creditors to remediate the impact of identity theft.

LifeLock said it had 4.4 million members at the end of the third quarter, up eight percent year-on-year.

Through the acquisition of LifeLock, Symantec would enhance its consumer unit, which provides antivirus software. The company has been moving away from what is sees as more commoditised services, selling its data storage business Veritas in January to private equity firm Carlyle Group LP for US$7.4 billion.

In February, Symantec announced a US$500 million investment from technology-focused buyout firm Silver Lake Partners LP.

Silver Lake invested another US$500 million in Symantec when the latter agreed to acquire Blue Coat, while private equity firm Bain Capital LLC, which sold Blue Coat to Symantec, agreed to reinvest US$750 Million in the combined company.

The Blue Coat deal also made Greg Clark, Blue Coat's chief executive officer, CEO of Symantec.

(Reporting by Liana B. Baker, Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler, Alan Crosby and Himani Sarkar)