14 DAY TRIAL // Security giant Symantec announced a definitive agreement to acquire VeriSign's security-related business for $1.28 billion yesterday. According to the deal, Symantec will take over VeriSign's server authentication, secure socket layer (SSL) and identity protection services, as well as its public key infrastructure (PKI).
VeriSign is one of the organizations that play a critical role on the Internet as we know it today. The company operates two of the Internet's DNS root nameservers and is the registry operator for the .com and .net domain name TLDs. All changes to the Internet's root zone file are also operated by VeriSign after they pass the U.S. Department of Commerce’s approval.
Even though none of the company's operations described above are affected by Symantec's acquisition of its so-called 'trusted Internet infrastructure' services, the deal is still significant, as VeriSign is the largest Certification Authority (CA) on the Internet, with over three million issued certificates. The widely recognized "VeriSign Secured Seal" symbol that has a checkmark in a circle design will also become the property of Symantec and be used for its future business when the deal is finalized.
According to Symantec's President and Chief Executive Officer, Enrique Salem, with this acquisition, the security vendor wants to strengthen its position on the information- and identity-protection market. "With the combined products and reach from Symantec and VeriSign, we are poised to drive adoption of identity security as the means to provide simple and secure access to anything from anywhere, to prevent identity fraud and to make online experiences more user-friendly and hassle-free," he said.
The agreement also has Symantec taking ownership of a 54% majority equity stake in VeriSign's Japanese subsidiary. The deal is still waiting for approval from the regulators, but it is expected to close by the end of the third quarter.
VeriSign's revenue from authentication-related services was of $410 million for 2009 fiscal year, with the SSL business alone generating 85% of it. Nine hundred of the company's employees will join Symantec's Enterprise Security Group led by Francis deSouza.