Symantec's PC Tools buy worth $300m?

in brief An Australian newspaper has placed the value of global security vendor Symantec's purchase last week of Sydney-based rival PC Tools at AU$300 million.

Symantec announced the deal last week, however, it did not disclose the value of the acquisition. PC Tools CEO Simon Clausen and partner Peter McKow founded the group back in 1998 as a website, with reports saying the pair had eschewed venture capital to fund their operations off the back of their credit cards.

Today The Australian Financial Review reported the deal was believed to be worth AU$300 million. The newspaper also said James Packer's family company Consolidated Press Holdings and a hedge fund associated with the media mogul had a stake in PC Tools, worth AU$60 million after the Symantec buy.

If true, the news would make the PC Tools buy one of the largest ever of an Australian technology company by a multinational. Another large recent buy was US-based private equity firm Francisco Partner's AU$315 million acquisition of Queensland-based software firm Mincom.