NortonLifeLock to Buy Avast for as Much as $8.6 Billion

Julian RO

Level 3
Oct 10, 2019
105
The sale of Bitdefender to Kaspersky would never be approved under the current EU.
It depends a lot. I hope it won't be sold, because they made a really good antivirus. Since they are from my country too.
Now whoever decides to buy Norton gets the full package (Avast, Avira and BullGuard) :LOL:
Norton will become bigger and bigger if they're gonna continue to buy antivirus brands.

Nobody is interested in Emsisoft, their user base is very small.
I never used Emsisoft in my life, even though I saw it on some AV tests.

norton is becoming the disney of antivirus buying
I definitely agree with this. If they continue to do it with Kaspersky, or Bitdefender, yes, it's clear.
 

Nevi

Level 11
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Apr 7, 2016
500
Nobody is interested in Emsisoft, their user base is very small.
It is a truth with modifications. There are many here at MT who use Emsi and they seem to be happy with it. It's also one of the best with customer support. Do you have a link that support that they have a very small user base?
 

Nightwater

Level 2
Jan 26, 2021
69
Yes! I hope emsisoft’s powerful BB can be integrated into Bitdefendet’s ATD. :sneaky:
powerful BB? It's just a good blocker, BitDefender's is much more complete, besides its firewall and other security modules, BitDefender doesn't need Emsisoft for anything, they are already successful in the field, most antivirus buy their subscriptions, and in the corporate market they are very strong.
 

show-Zi

Level 36
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Jan 28, 2018
2,463
For BD, Emishi is supposed to be an important customer. It is unlikely that the relationship will go any further than that unless there is something wrong with it.

It is a truth with modifications. There are many here at MT who use Emsi and they seem to be happy with it. It's also one of the best with customer support. Do you have a link that support that they have a very small user base?
I don't know how the individual support is going, but the activity in the support forum on the official website seems to be definitely lower than it used to be.:coffee::unsure:
 

Nightwater

Level 2
Jan 26, 2021
69
For BD, Emishi is supposed to be an important customer. It is unlikely that the relationship will go any further than that unless there is something wrong with it.


I don't know how the individual support is going, but the activity in the support forum on the official website seems to be definitely lower than it used to be.:coffee::unsure:
Emsisoft has few customers and I read since most are older people (between 40 and 60 years old), their support is great, but you see, It's great because they have few customers, that way it's easier to pay attention to the support, that's why the people say they are fast and etc, now if they had the number of BitDefender clients, Norton, Kapersky and etc, things would be very different.

But making it clear here: I think Emsisoft is a good product, it has very good detection people and it helps especially when it comes to ransomware, there was a time when they were used a lot right here in this forum, but over time it was losing all this audience and today they are little talked about.
 

show-Zi

Level 36
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Jan 28, 2018
2,463
Emsisoft has few customers and I read since most are older people (between 40 and 60 years old), their support is great, but you see, It's great because they have few customers, that way it's easier to pay attention to the support, that's why the people say they are fast and etc, now if they had the number of BitDefender clients, Norton, Kapersky and etc, things would be very different.

But making it clear here: I think Emsisoft is a good product, it has very good detection people and it helps especially when it comes to ransomware, there was a time when they were used a lot right here in this forum, but over time it was losing all this audience and today they are little talked about.
This is off the subject of the thread, so I will speak briefly. Your opinion is critical, but I feel it is rather close to the truth.
I feel that emisi is now lost in the direction of what kind of users will choose their software. I will be watching the progress of this project closely.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nevi and peterfat11

azariy

New Member
Aug 16, 2021
1
Antivirus vendor NortonLifeLock this afternoon said it will merge with Britain's Avast PLC in a transaction combining cash and stock in two different options, totaling between $8.1 billion and $8.6 billion in stock.

That value is roughly equivalent to the value in U.S. dollars of Avast's enterprise value, which takes into account its cash and debt, of £6.5 billion, based on the closing price of Avast stock tuesday of £5.68 on the London Stock Exchange.

NortonLifeLock shares rose 2.5% in late trading.

The two companies said in the joint press release that their respective boards of directors see an 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."

The two companies said the deal will bring together product lines that are broadly complementary, while giving the combined company a user base of over half a billion customers. The deal will broaden the geographic market coverage of the combined company. In addition, the two expect to realize "$280 million of annual gross cost synergies."

Under terms of the deal, "Avast shareholders will be entitled to receive a combination of cash consideration and newly issued shares in NortonLifeLock with alternative consideration elections available."


In a companion deck of slides, the two companies detail two options for shareholders. Option one is to receive 31% of the deal in cash and 69% in stock, option two is to receive 90% in cash and 10% in stock.

combining-nortonlifelock-and-avast-irdeck-final-slide-4.jpg



NortonLifeLock CEO Vincent Pilette called the deal "a huge step forward for consumer Cyber Safety" that he said "will ultimately enable us to achieve our vision to protect and empower people to live their digital lives safely."

Added Pilette, "With this combination, we can strengthen our Cyber Safety platform and make it available to more than 500 million users. We will also have the ability to further accelerate innovation to transform Cyber Safety."

Also: NortonLifeLock fiscal Q4 tops expectations, sees double-digit long-term revenue growth

Said Avast CEO Ondřej Vlček, "At a time when global cyber threats are growing, yet cyber safety penetration remains very low, together with NortonLifeLock, we will be able to accelerate our shared vision of providing holistic cyber protection for consumers around the globe."

Added Vlček, "Our talented teams will have better opportunities to innovate and develop enhanced solutions and services, with improved capabilities from access to superior data insights. 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."

Pilette, and NortonLifeLock's CFO, Natalie Derse, will remain in those positions in the combined company. Avast CEO Vlček will join NortonLifeLock as President and will join the Board of Directors. Pavel Baudiš, a co-founder and current director of Avast, is expected to join the Board as an independent director, the companies said.

nortonlifelock-and-avast-merger-aug-2021.jpg



NortonLifeLock, formerly the consumer security technology arm of Symantec, separated from Symantec when the enterprise security business was purchased by Broadcom in late 2019.

Elevwork timeen-year-old Avast focuses on software for consumers and small and medium businesses.

The take-out price represents a multiple of roughly 9.6 times projected revenue this year for Avast of £678 million, and a multiple of projected Ebitda profit of 17 times.

Hmm...interesting. Thank you very much for sharing!
 

Shadowra

Level 33
Verified
Top Poster
Content Creator
Malware Tester
Well-known
Sep 2, 2021
2,245
Indeed I had seen the information, Norton also buys Avira.
But I wonder what it will give... Which brand will stay and which detection engine will be used.
I'm a bit afraid that Norton will do like with PC-Tools, buy them, merge and see the brand die.....
 
  • +Reputation
  • Like
Reactions: KonradPL and Nevi

About us

  • MalwareTips is a community-driven platform providing the latest information and resources on malware and cyber threats. Our team of experienced professionals and passionate volunteers work to keep the internet safe and secure. We provide accurate, up-to-date information and strive to build a strong and supportive community dedicated to cybersecurity.

User Menu

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to know first about the latest cybersecurity incidents and malware threats.

Top