Symantec buys Veritas for $13.5b

Symantec shareholders will own approx 60% and Veritas shareholders approx 40%
of the combined company when the transaction closes in the second quarter of
2005

Symantec Corp has announced that it has agreed to buy Veritas Software in an
all-stock trans-action for approximately $13.5 billion. Under the agreement,
which has been unanimously approved by both boards of directors, Veritas'
stock will be converted into Symantec stock at a fixed exchange ratio of 1.1242
shares of Symantec common stock for each out-standing share of Veritas common
stock. Upon closing, Symantec shareholders will own approximately 60 percent and
Veritas shareholders approxi-mately 40 percent of the com-bined company. The
transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2005, subject to
customary closing conditions.

The combined company will operate under the Symantec name. Chairman and CEO
of Symantec, John W Thompson will continue as Chairman and CEO of the combined
company. Chairman, President and CEO of Veritas, Gary L Bloom will be
Vice-chairman and President of the combined company. The board directors of the
combined company will include six members of Symantec's current board and four
from Veritas' current board for a total of 10 members.

By merging with Veritas, Symantec will expand its com-bined revenue base and
create an entity with significantly greater financial scale and resources. The
aggregate reve-nue of the combined company is expected to be approximately $
five billion for the fiscal year 2006, which begins in April 2005 and ends in
March 2006. Approximately 75 percent of the revenue of the combined company is
expected to come from the enterprise business and 25 percent from the consu-mer
business. In addition, the combined company will have approximately $ five
billion in cash.

Commenting on the acquisi-tion, Network Appliance (Net-App) Country Manager,
George Thomas said "The Symantec/Veritas merger will combine data
availability and security to provide a very compelling solution for
information-driven customers. NetApp customers can benefit tremendously from
this merger as we continue to expand our joint solution. And develop, tighten
interopera-bility and simplify management for existing and future Syman-tec and
Veritas products."

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