California-based Symantec Corporation announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Clearwell Systems, Inc., which is also based in California. Symantec is an online security company that provides systems management, storage and security for its customers.

Clearwell is a leader in the eDiscovery market. The company is strong in the archiving and backup market. The combination of Symantec and the privately-held Clearwell would offer customers one of the most comprehensive information management systems available, according to statements by Symantec.

The agreement calls for Symantec to pay $390 million for the acquisition of Clearwell. A closing is hoped for around September.

The companies expect the eDiscovery market to reach $1.7 billion by 2014. As a combined force, the new company intends to lead that market. The acquisition is also expected to hold opportunities in product integration.

The leadership of Clearwell and Symantec believes that more businesses are going to have more needs in formal information governance. This will become more and more necessary as businesses recognize the need to cut costs and risks that come with inevitable needs for legal discovery. The new company will be depending on an increase in businesses seeking information governance strategies.

San Diego mergers and acquisitions attorneys following news of the acquisition noted that that the new company has strong confidence in the positive effects of combining their forces.

The Clearwell CEO said, “By joining forces and combining the industry’s leading archiving solution with the industry’s leading eDiscovery solution, we will be uniquely positioned to deliver a seamless, integrated information governance workflow, benefitting both Symantec and Clearwell customers.”

Source: Marketwatch “Symantec to Acquire Clearwell Systems” 5/19/2011