Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2011/05/17/ca_quits_anti_virus_biz/
CA antivirus unit sold: Will become 'Total Defense'
VCs fixin' to sharpen up the toolset
Posted in On-Prem, 17th May 2011 11:14 GMT
CA has sold its antivirus division to venture capital firm Updata Partners.
Updata plans to form a new firm, provisionally called Total Defense, Inc, once the deal closes in June.
Around 60,000 businesses worldwide rely on antivirus technologies from CA's Internet Security Business Unit, the division of the firm that is being sold.
CA will retain its enterprise-focused identity and access management software business, a line of products that fits more closely with its core systems management market. Financial terms of the deal, announced late last week, were not disclosed.
The move following disappointing financial results from the system management firm, which has been a premier league player in the anti-malware market for 10 years without ever managing to knock any of the big four off their perch.
CA Q4 sales rose by five per cent to $1.13bn, falling below analyst predictions of $1.17bn. Shares in the firm fell nine per cent as a result, Bloomberg reports.
CA's anti-malware technology has endured a mediocre performance in independent technical tests of late, but new management and a sharper focus could easily turn this around.
CA Internet Security Suite 2011 failed to receive certification in independent quarterly tests performed by AV-Test.org, for example. CA's entries also performed meekly in recent Virus Bulletin tests. ®