http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2013/01/15/symantec-put...

Security software company Symantec Corp. SYMC -0.19% has put Altiris Inc., a business it acquired for about $800 million in 2007, up for sale and is drawing interest from private-equity firms, people familiar with the process said.

Altiris, which provides IT management software that helps companies manage so-called “end point” connections such as laptops and mobile devices, is expected to fetch less than the amount it sold for, the people said.

Symantec paid $33 a share, or $830 million, for Altiris in 2007.

A Symantec representative didn’t respond to requests for comment Tuesday. (Update: a representative later declined to comment.)

The move to sell Altiris comes months after Symantec chairman Steve Bennett became chief executive in July, after former CEO Enrique Salem was removed amid the company’s underperformance. Mr. Bennett, a General Electric Co. GE +0.07% veteran who joined the board in 2010, has been leading a turnaround effort at the Mountain View, Calif. company that involves pruning bits and pieces of the business to focus on its main operations.

Symantec, with a market capitalization of around $14 billion, is best known as a provider of software that protects computers and networks from viruses and other threats. In 2005, it paid $13.5 billion to buy Veritas, branching out into the business of data storage management. However, that acquisition is widely seen as not having delivered the anticipated benefits.