Symantec, Huawei Form Security Appliance Company

Symantec and Huawei Technologies on Monday said they plan to form a joint venture to develop and sell security and storage appliances to telecommunication carriers and enterprises.

The joint company would focus on building hardware for developing and maintaining IP networks, the companies said in a statement. Symantec, based in Cupertino, Calif., specializes in security and storage software, and Huawei, based in China, makes networking hardware.

The new company would be headquartered in Chengdu, China, with Huawei owning 51%, and Symantec the remainder.

Huawei plans to contribute to the new company its intellectual property licenses, research and development and manufacturing capabilities, and engineering talent, which includes more than 750 employees. Symantec plans to contribute some of its enterprise storage and security software licenses, working capital, and management expertise. Symantec also plans to invest $150 million in the joint venture, which is expected to close this year, pending regulatory and government approvals.

The global security and storage appliance market is valued at $23 billion today, Huawei and Symantec said. The market in China is forecast to exceed $1.1 billion.