Is Symantec in Microsoft’s Shopping Cart?

The market for security software started to heat up last month following Intel’s surprising $7.7 billion acquisition of McAfee. But there’s always activity on the IT security front, as new security threats emerge and companies scramble to act both reactively and proactively.

In the last few years Microsoft has greatly increased its investment in the security of its products which, because of their widespread use, tend to be a favorite target of malware and other security threats.

But as eSecurity Planet reports, Microsoft may be looking to significantly raise its security profile with the acquisition of Symantec, a leading provider of security software.

Intel

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s planned acquisition of security vendor McAfee sparked widespread speculation that other security players are also potential acquisition targets. Now, a new report from a leading stock analyst is adding more grist to the rumor mill, causing a small run-up in McAfee competitor Symantec

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s stock price and a new round of reports that Symantec

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s most likely suitor is none other than longtime Intel partner Microsoft.

On Wednesday, several investor publications, including Barron’s Tech Trader Daily and TheStreet led with the rumor that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) may be courting Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC), citing investor boards across the Internet.

Read the full article at eSecurity Planet:

Is Microsoft Looking to Buy Symantec?