NortonLifeLock agrees to buy Avast for up to $8.6 bln

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LONDON: U.S. cybersecurity company NortonLifeLock Inc said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy its London-listed rival Avast Plc for up to US$8.6 billion in cash and shares to create a leader in consumer security software.

The two companies had said they were in advanced merger talks last month.

Founded and based in Prague, Czech Republic, Avast is a pioneer of “freemium” software, whereby basic applications are free and subscribers pay for premium features. It had 435 million active users at the end of 2020, of whom 16.5 million were paying.

NortonLifeLock Chief Executive Vincent Pilette said: “With this combination, we can strengthen our Cyber Safety platform and make it available to more than 500 million users.”

Avast shareholders will be entitled to receive a mix of cash and shares, with majority cash and majority stock options available, the companies said.

Based on NortonLifeLock’s closing price of $27.20 on July 13, the day before market speculation about talks started, the deal values Avast’s equity between $8.1 billion and $8.6 billion, depending on how shareholders vote to receive payment.

Shares in NortonLifeLock, however, have fallen since the talks were announced and closed at $24.15 on Tuesday.

Avast had a market capitalization on July 13 of 5.19 billion pounds ($7.18 billion), according to Refinitiv data.

The combined company will be dual-headquartered in Prague and the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona, the companies said.

Evercore advised NortonLifeLock and UBS and J.P. Morgan Cazenove advised Avast on the deal. ($1 = 0.7228 pound)- Reuters



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