Norton And Avast Announce Blockbuster $8 Billion Merger To Form Cybersecurity Superpower

Announced yesterday, the NortonLifeLock and Avast merger terms have been settled wherein Avast’s shareholders would receive somewhere between $8.1 and $8.6 billion in cash and NortonLifeLock shares. Subsequently, shareholders will have to choose between $7.61 in cash and .0302 of the new NortonLifeLock, or $2.37 in cash and .1937 of NortonLifeLock stock, which is up nearly 9% since market close on August 10th.
The merger, which shareholders must approve for both companies, has been described as “an attractive opportunity to create a new, industry-leading consumer Cyber Safety business, leveraging the established brands, technology and innovation of both groups to deliver substantial benefits to consumers, shareholders, and other stakeholders.” Vincent Pilette, CEO of NortonLifeLock, explained that the new company “will ultimately enable us to achieve our vision to protect and empower people to live their digital lives safely,” and “accelerate innovation to transform Cyber Safety.”
CEO of Avast Ondřej Vlček echoed similar sentiments and further stated that “Through our well-established brands, greater geographic diversification and access to a larger global user base, the combined businesses will be poised to access the significant growth opportunity that exists worldwide.” With this, it is reported that both companies combined will have over 500 million users worldwide and an astounding $3.5 billion in revenue.

It is expected that this massive deal will close sometime in the middle of 2022, barring any concerns from regulatory bodies, shareholders, or other closing conditions. This could ultimately make NortonLifeLock one of the biggest players in the cybersecurity space with both device and personal information protection. In any event, it will be exciting to see where the new company goes, so stay tuned to HotHardware for updates.