The U.K.’s competition watchdog gives the go-ahead for Norton and Avast to join forces.
NortonLifeLock Inc.’s (NASDAQ:NLOK) plan to buy rival Avast PLC (LON:AVST) for £6 billion was given final approval by the U.K.’s competition watchdog on Friday. This makes it even more likely that the deal will go through, making NortonLifeLock a huge cybersecurity company with half a billion customers.
NortonLifeLock, which is based in the U.S., said that the merger with Czech rival Avast will now be finalised on September 12, which is the same date that was given when the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority gave preliminary approval to the merger in early August.
The CMA stated at the time that its review of the agreement “put to rest concerns that the combined company would have no major competitors.” The regulators said that software company McAfee was the main competitor for Avast and Norton LifeLock. They also said that tech giant Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows operating system would also compete with these companies.
The CMA said in a statement on Friday that the preliminary decision was upheld after a period of consultation that ended on August 24.
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“After a thorough look at the evidence, we’re now sure that this deal won’t make it harder for people to choose what to buy. So, we’ve decided that the deal can move forward. Kirstin Baker, who leads the CMA inquiry group, said this.
Shares of Avast that were traded in the U.K. were a little bit higher around mid-morning.
The cash-and-stock deal was first announced in 2021. Both companies wanted to form a large software security company that could compete with tech giants like Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
