Symantec Investors Seek First Court OK of $70 Million Settlement

Symantec Corp. and investors who say it misled them about its financial performance after two 2016 acquisitions asked a federal judge in California for initial approval of their $70 million class settlement.

The cash deal “represents a recovery of approximately 6.9% of the absolute maximum possible damages for all claims,” and a recovery of more than 10.2% after accounting for some pre-class period gains, the software company’s investors said in a memo filed as part of their bid for preliminary settlement approval in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Symantec allegedly manipulated its financial reports to make its performance look better after it acquired Blue Coat Systems Inc. and Lifelock Inc. The company changed its name to NortonLifeLock Inc. in 2019 after selling a portion of its business to Broadcom Inc.

Judge William Alsup certified the investor class in 2020. The class consists of everyone who acquired publicly-traded Symantec common stock from May 11, 2017, through Aug. 2, 2018, and lost money as a result, with exclusions for those with close ties to the company, the memo filed Tuesday said.

Class counsel Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP plans to ask for up to 19% of the settlement fund—$13.3 million—in attorneys’ fees. The firm will also request as much as $2.5 million as reimbursement of litigation expenses.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represents Symantec.

The case is SEB Inv. Mgmt. AB v. Symantec Corp., N.D. Cal., No. 3:18-cv-02902, preliminary settlement approval motion filed 7/6/21.