There is a recent rumor doing the rounds that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)may be looking at Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) as a possible acquisition target. It is being speculated that Symantec, with its portfolio of security products, could be a great target for Microsoft whose Windows operating system has been a hacker’s favorite for quite sometime now. Following the rumors, the stock price of Symantec has seen a surge by 6% and is currently trading at $14.81.
However, you may have to take this latest bit with a grain of salt. As BNET points out, Microsoft has its own portfolio of security products including security essentials and firewall. So the company does not have a need to spend its cash on a company like Symantec to grow its base in the security segment. Also, Symantec softwares are not exactly known for their computer-friendliness with their ability to guzzle memory space. So, Symantec may not be the ideal high-value-low-price target that companies like Microsoft may look out for.
To be clear though, this is not a definitive argument and there are still a hundred reasons why the deal could actually go through. For the moment though, the rumors appear to be a media-frenzy that could only help pump up the market value of these stocks.
What do you think?