Symantec has bought Messagelabs, the Gloucestershire based email security firm, for a reported £397m in cash. Brothers Ben and Joe White founded Messagelabs in 1999 and has since grown to become the world's largest messaging business. The brothers own about 26 percent of the shares. The co-founder Rory Sweet has a 17 % stake. The company was initially created to run alongside Star ISP the internet service provider also set up by Ben White. Messagelabs host servers that filter emails for spam and viruses that are sent and received by companies. They also maintain archives of emails to ensure no loss of sensitive data. Revenues in Messagelabs are reported at £73m and operating profits of £5m.