NortonLifeLock to Complete Acquisition of Avast After Regulator’s OK

Following approval by the United Kingdom’s competition regulator, NortonLifeLock announced in a Friday (Sept. 2) press release that its acquisition of fellow cybersecurity software provider Avast is now expected to close Sept. 12.

In an earlier press release issued Aug. 4, after the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had provisionally approved the deal, NortonLifeLock said the merger’s close was dependent on final approval from the CMA.

“We are excited to start the process of bringing our two companies together now that the CMA has approved our merger with Avast,” NortonLifeLock CEO Vincent Pilette said in the Aug. 4 release. “With this key milestone behind us, we are looking forward to driving innovation and taking cyber safety to the next level.”

The CMA gave the go-ahead to NortonLifeLock’s acquisition of Avast earlier Friday, saying the merger of the two providers of cyber safety software would not lessen competition in the country.

The regulator said in its own Friday press release that there is significant competition among companies that supply cyber safety software to consumers, that they’re constantly improving their products and that the merger does not raise concerns about there being enough competition.

“After reviewing the evidence in an in-depth review, we are now satisfied that this deal won’t worsen the options available to consumers,” CMA Panel Inquiry Chair and Panel Member Non-Executive Director Kirstin Baker said in the release. “As such, we have concluded that the deal can go ahead.”

As PYMNTS reported when news of the proposed deal surfaced in July 2021, Avast said at the time that it offered free and premium security software for consumers and served 435 million active users.

Read more: NortonLifeLock Looks to Acquire Cybersecurity Firm Avast

Cybersecurity is a hot topic following numerous breaches of high-profile companies that resulted in customers’ data being exposed.

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