Investor advisory firm supports Symantec-Veritas merger

Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which influences institutional and corporate investors with analysis and recommendations, weighed in on the mega merger with a report issued late Friday.

"While ISS believes that shareholders are right to be cautious given the history of large technology transactions failing to deliver on promises, we believe that the underlying strategic merits behind this transaction are strong," the firm said in its report.

Symantec and Veritas have emphasized that the deal is rooted in customer need for integrated security and storage solutions and "the strategic rationale for this transaction has been broadly accepted by most market analysts," according to ISS.

The report comes after another investor advisory firm reportedly issued a recommendation against the merger.

Symantec and Veritas shareholders are scheduled to vote on the deal June 24.

Investor response to the deal had been tepid, but ISS described the initial reaction to the acquisition as "primarily caused by the market re-setting the value of the sector, rather than specifically in distaste" for the transaction.

Earlier this year SC reported industry needs to agree on spyware.