Security News > 2021 > July > NortonLifeLock sniffs around Avast, announces 'advanced discussions' for acquisition

NortonLifeLock sniffs around Avast, announces 'advanced discussions' for acquisition
2021-07-15 10:46

NortonLifeLock, the somewhat clunky moniker adopted by the former consumer business arm of the Symantec Corporation, has announced "Advanced discussions" with rival Avast over a possible merger.

"A combination of NortonLifeLock and Avast would bring together two companies with aligned visions, highly complementary business profiles and a joint commitment to innovation that helps protect and empower people to live their digital lives safely," a NortonLifeLock spokesperson claimed in a message to investors.

Consumer security is precisely where Czech rival Avast has its sights set.

The company's history is not untouched by controversy, however: its Avast- and AVG-branded browser extensions were dropped after they were found to be selling users' browsing histories to a third party, which the company promised to stop - only for an update to open a man-in-the-middle vulnerability in the Avast AntiTrack privacy tool.

"One unique angle to this acquisition is Avast's wildly successful freemium model: Avast has around 400 million users, most of which are still on the free product, providing a rich base to potentially convert into paying customers. In a market where churn is particularly high, and consumers are incredibly price sensitive, this is a rather valuable differentiator."

"For Norton, Avast also provides a strong boost outside of the US: while Norton does have an international model, the US is the core and where the brand is strongest, with Europe, Asia, and Africa dominated by regional players."


News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/07/15/nortonlifelock_and_avast_confirm_merger_negotiations/

Related vendor

VENDOR LAST 12M #/PRODUCTS LOW MEDIUM HIGH CRITICAL TOTAL VULNS
Avast 33 8 25 21 6 60