Broadcom is in advanced talks to buy Symantec for more than $15 billion, as first reported by Bloomberg.
Why it matters: Symantec is the world's largest provider of cybersecurity software.
- What we're seeing: Symantec shares jumped in early trading, giving it a market cap of nearly $16 billion. No surprise there, as investors often expect a premium to the leaked premium. Broadcom shares are down more than 3%, perhaps over fears that this could be like the last time a chipmaker paid big for a cybersecurity company (i.e., Intel buying McAfee, and then later selling it at a major discount to TPG).
The bottom line: Broadcom is using M&A to move deeper into software than into its core competency of chips, after last year being blocked by regulators from buying Qualcomm but permitted to buy CA Technologies.
Go deeper: Computer chips are still "Made in USA"
