Symantec is close to hiring JPMorgan Chase to defend the enterprise technology company against activist investors, people briefed on the matter said on Friday.
But it was not clear if any activist funds have acquired stakes in Symantec, which has a market value of more than $13.5 billion. No activist hedge funds have so far reported holdings in the company.
Symantec finds itself in the cross hairs just weeks after firing its chief executive, Steve Bennett. He  was the second C.E.O. to be ousted in less than two years, and was let go after he failed to jump-start revenues.
Michael Brown, a Symantec board member, is serving as interim chief executive.
Symantec offers both enterprise software and consumer programs like the Norton antivirus software, and the people briefed on the matter said that they believe activists could call for the company to split in two.
“We commonly engage financial advisers to help with our business but beyond that will not comment on any rumors or speculation,†Symantec said in a statement.
JPMorgan declined to comment.
