Avast and NortonLifeLock set for $8 billion antivirus mega-merger
Combined product portfolio could dwarf rivals
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Two of the world’s largestcybersecurityfirms have confirmed that they are in advanced stages of merger talks.
BothAvastandNortonLifeLockreleased statements confirming their plans, but added there was no certainty that a deal would be agreed.
According to theWall Street Journal, which first reported the talks, the merger between the Nasdaq-listed Norton, which is the larger of the two, would value the London-listed Avast at $8 billion.
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In a statement, NortonLifeLock said the deal would bring together “two companies with aligned visions”.Reutersargues that the combination of the two vendors would create a clear leader in consumer security software.
Sign of the times
The recent spate ofcyber attacks on businesses, along with the shift towardshybrid workenvironments, has had a positive impact on the bottom-line of security companies.
Remote workinghas spurred demand for Avast’s desktop products such as itsantivirus software, which has helped the company record a 7.1% organic growth in adjusted billings to $922 million last year, according toReuters.
Avast’s freemium software reportedly had 435 million active users at the end of 2020, of which 16.5 million paid for premium add-ons. NortonLifeLock, previously known asSymantec Corp, before it sold its enterprise-security business to Broadcom in 2019, has a wider portfolio of products that also includesidentity theft protectionservices.
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Norton has until the second week of August to make its final offer to Avast, addsReuters.
ViaReuters
With almost two decades of writing and reporting on Linux, Mayank Sharma would like everyone to think he’sTechRadar Pro’sexpert on the topic. Of course, he’s just as interested in other computing topics, particularly cybersecurity, cloud, containers, and coding.
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