This takeover looks like a good move

Article Excerpt

SYMANTEC CORP. $14 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 798.9 million; Market cap: $11.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; No dividends paid; WSSF Rating: Average) is buying the identity and authentication operations of VeriSign Inc. (Nasdaq symbol VRSN). This business makes Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software certificates, which web site operators use to cut down on fraud and identitytheft. SSL certificates protect sensitive data, such as names and credit-card numbers, that customers send to web sites when they order products online. Over 2.3 million web sites use VeriSign’s certificates, which makes it the leader in this market. However, this business faces increasing competition from cheaper, though less secure, products. Still, Symantec sees VeriSign’s technology as a good fit with its existing data-security products. Symantec is paying $1.3 billion for these operations. To put this figure in context, Symantec earned $1.2 billion, or $1.51 a share, in its latest fiscal year, which ended April 2, 2010. The…