Cyber security firm Avast has been sold to American rival Norton in a £6.2billion deal.
The London-listed company, which is based in Prague, revealed it was in merger talks last month.
A deal has now been done with Norton, which intends to pay with cash and shares. The merger will create a cyber security giant with annual revenues of £2.5billion and more than 500m customers.
Tech merger: Avast has been sold to American rival Norton in a £6.2bn deal which will create a cyber security giant with annual revenues of £2.5bn and more than 500m customers
Vincent Pilette, chief executive of Norton, said his company was strong in identity theft protection whereas Avast was strong in privacy. He added: ‘We both have the vision of a common platform.’
Avast shares rose 3.1 per cent, or 17.6p, to 586p. Founded in the Czech Republic, its ‘freemium’ software, offers basic services for free, and sophisticated ones for a price.
It had 435m active users at the end of 2020, of whom 16.5m were paying. Norton, previously known as Symantec, has a larger premium business which sells software to combat viruses, spyware, malware and other attacks.
After the merger, likely to complete in 12 months, Avast shareholders are expected to hold 14 to 26 per cent of the company.
This will depend on whether they choose to be paid in cash or shares.
The companies plan to slash shared costs, notably by cutting staff from 5,000 to 4,000, and will also aim to wring out £202million of other savings. There will be two HQs – in Prague and, Arizona.
Analysts at Jefferies said the deal ‘looks strategically sensible… but investors are unlikely to feel the offer is particularly generous’.
Shareholders who choose to be paid mainly in cash will see their Avast shares valued at about 608.4p.
Those who choose mostly Norton stock will see their Avast shares valued at about 551p.
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