Avast acquires AVG for $1.3billion

Avast Software has just announced its acquisition of fellow industry pioneer, security provider and long time rival AVG Technologies. 

The two companies have entered into a purchase agreement in which Avast will offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of AVG for $25.00 per share in cash, for a total consideration of approximately $1.3 billion. 

This consolidation is set to combine the strengths of both Avast and AVG to continue growth in the security industry, putting the organisation at the forefront of security software development. 

The new organisation will have a network of more than 400 million endpoints, 160 of which are entirely mobile. Avast hope that the increase in scale will enable the company to create products that are more technically advanced than ever before. 

According to a company statement, the transaction has been unanimously approved by the management board and supervisory board of Avast. 

Vince Steckler, chief executive officer of Avast Software, believes the acquisition gives the company breadth to be the security provider of choice for current and future customers. 

"Combining the strengths of two great tech companies, both founded in the Czech Republic and with a common culture and mission, will put us in a great position to take advantage of the new opportunities ahead, such as security for the enormous growth in IoT," says Steckler. 

Gary Kovacs, chief executive officer of AVG, says that joining forces with Avast fully supports their growth objectives. 

"Our new scale will allow us to accelerate investments in growing markets and continue to focus on providing comprehensive and simple-to-use solutions for consumers and businesses, alike," says Kovacs.

"As the definition of online security continues to shift from being device-centric, to being concerned with devices, data and people, we believe the combined company, with the strengthened value proposition, will emerge as a leader in this growing market."

The transaction is expected to close sometime between September 15, and October 15, 2016, depending on the timing of regulatory review.