Symantec's Potential Spinoff Would be Beneficial for Firm, Shares

Symantec may be the latest technology company to split into separate businesses, taking a cue from eBay and Hewlett-Packard. The software company is reportedly in advanced talks to break up into two entities, one that sells security programs and one that focuses on data storage, according to people cited by Bloomberg. Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow said a potential spinoff could create value. He said,'Given that realistically there are few synergies between the two business units, we also believe a split would be strategically beneficial for the firm and also positive for the share price longer term.' He has an Equal Weight rating on the stock. Shares of Symantec were climbing on the news.