Symantec dials Latham on MessageLabs

Software giant Symantec Corp. appears to be in acquisition mode. On Oct. 8, the company announced it was buying Gloucester, U.K.-based MessageLabs Ltd. for nearly $695 million in cash, in the company's sixth deal so far this year. The announcement came two days after Symantec closed another deal, its $280 million acquisition of PC Tools Ltd., an Australian anti-spyware vendor.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Symantec did not use any outside financial advisers on either deal. For legal advice in the MessageLabs acquisition, Symantec turned to Latham & Watkins LLP's London-based partner Graeme Sloan and counsel Rod Brown.

For financial advice, MessageLabs tagged Citigroup Inc.'s William Barter, Stuart Goldstein and Richard Moore. It used Heller Ehrman LLP's team for legal advice.

On the PC Tools deal, Symantec received legal advice from Khoa Do, an M&A lawyer in DLA Piper USA LLP's Silicon Valley office. "I actively pursued Symantec because it is one of the great Silicon Valley tech companies and is the leader in its field," says Do, who joined DLA Piper from Greenberg Traurig LLP in 2007. "In addition, Symantec is an active acquirer."

Earlier this year, Do advised Symantec in its acquisition of Transparent Logic Inc. and says his firm is now working on two deals for Symantec in the pipeline. In the PC Tools deal, Do worked closely with fellow partners Michael Reagan from Silicon Valley (who also came from Greenberg), Paolo Morante in New York, Iain Rennie in Sydney and Jan Dreyer in Germany. "The target company had companies in each of those locations, which required us to reach out to local expertise," Do says.

For financial advice, PC Tools turned to Goldman, Sachs & Co.'s San Francisco bankers Ian MacLeod and Jeffrey LaBorde. For legal advice, the target used Jones Day Silicon Valley partners Daniel Mitz and Robert Clarkson. PC Tools' in-house group included CEO Simon Clausen and general counsel Michael Helmer.