US leader snaps up email firm KVault

A BERKSHIRE-based email archiving company, KVault Software, has been bought for $225m (£125m) by Veritas Software, a leading US security specialist.

The deal values KVault at 10 times its sales in 2003, and comes as the new web of post-Enron regulatory requirements that dictate the saving on email has boosted commercial interest in the area.

Gary Bloom, chairman of Veritas Software, said: 'With growing regulatory requirements, customers need solutions that allow them to discover quickly specific information, whether it's in email or personal documents.'

KVault, which has offices in Britain, the US and continental Europe, makes Enterprise Vault, software that manages and archives corporate email and data held within products, such as Microsoft Office.

Veritas said it expected to complete the transaction by the end of September.