Veritas, which was founded in 1983 and is based in Mountain View, Calif., provides data storage and server management software. It generated $2.6 billion in revenue in the 2015 fiscal year, which ended in March.

The deal came after Symantec, which specializes in security software, announced plans in October to divide its operations into two businesses: one focused on computer security software for businesses and consumers, and the other on information management, the Veritas line of business.

Symantec said the deal would allow it to focus on its computer security software business.

“Taking this decisive step forward will enable each business to maximize its potential,” Michael A. Brown, the president and chief executive of Symantec, said in a news release. “Both businesses will have substantial operational and financial scale to thrive.”

Symantec agreed to acquire Veritas in 2004 for $13.5 billion in stock.

If the deal is completed, William T. Coleman III, the founder of the software companies BEA Systems and Cassatt, would serve as chief executive of Veritas. For the past five years, he has been a partner with Alsop Louie Partners, a venture capital firm in San Francisco.

L. William Krause, a Carlyle executive and the former chief executive of 3Com, would serve as the chairman of Veritas.