Shares of Symantec Corp. are down more than 13% today after word emerged that acquisition talks with Broadcom Inc. have broken down.

Two weeks ago, the market learned by way of a leak that Broadcom was looking to acquire the cybersecurity provider for more than $15 billion. CNBC and Bloomberg reported this morning that the discussions have hit a snag over disagreements about the acquisition price. The impasse is apparently a fairly recent development that emerged over the weekend.

According to Bloomberg’s sources, Broadcom was at one point prepared to buy Symantec for  $28.25 per share, which would have valued the cybersecurity provider at about $17.5 billion. But Broadcom changed course after seeing the results of a due diligence report. The assessment reportedly led the company’s representatives in the talks to lower the offer by more than $1.50 per share, while Symantec insisted on a $28-a-share minimum price. 

The tipsters said that the talks could restart under the right conditions. They speculated that the companies would return to the table either in the event they find a way to compromise, or if Symantec finds itself under pressure to accept the offer.

The latter scenario seems especially likely to materialize. In an analyst note released last week, Jefferies Group LLC valued Symantec at $24 per share and advised investors that any acquisition above this price point would amount to a “huge windfall.” One Symantec investor that is likely particularly keen on a sale is Starboard Value LP, an activist hedge fund that took control of three seats on the company’s board last year.

Broadcom, in turn, has reportedly prepared a backup plan for the event a deal isn’t signed. This month, people close to the company told CNBC that it intends to acquire a firm in the infrastructure software market if it’s rebuffed by Symantec. One acquisition candidate reportedly being considered is Tibco Software Inc., a provider of data integration and analytics tools that was taken private for $4.3 billion in 2014.

Broadcom’s push into the software market started last year when it bought CA Technologies Inc. in a $19 billion deal. The company is looking for new sources of growth outside its core chip business, where the rising cost and complexity of semiconductor development is eating into profits.

Photo: Symantec