Symantec has announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Australian security vendor PC Tools. The privately held PC Tools, which is headquartered in Sydney, has risen to global prominence since hitting the world stage in 2003 with its security and privacy products for Windows-based PCs.
Symantec has not disclosed the financial terms of the acquisition and says that the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2008 subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
The companies have some crossover in terms of the products they bring to consumers, although PC Tools has gained its market share with free and competitively priced versions of its products, as well as award-winning performance. It’s Spyware Doctor software has consistently performed well in PC World’s tests.
According to Catriona Turner, Symantec’s public relations spokesperson for Asia Pacific and Japan, the company’s focus “has always been to help consumers manage their technology, from system utilities to security and online backup. PC Tools will broaden our portfolio in the utilities category, as well as with point security technologies.”
Turner added: “While there are some areas of technology overlap, such as basic antivirus and firewall, PC Tools brings unique complementary technologies such as PC maintenance and utility capabilities. Also, PC Tools’ automated response infrastructure leverages several of their security technologies, and will provide additional coverage of emerging threat types.”
While Symantec already has a strong global presence, the company has cited the fact that PC Tools’ products are available in more than 196 countries and in up to 27 languages as helping to expand Symantec’s reach into emerging markets.