Vince Steckler - CEO, Avast Software
AVG Technologies has been swallowed up by rival security vendor Avast Software, in a $US1.3 billion acquisition that represents further consolidation within the anti-virus software market.
Both companies are viewed as industry pioneers founded in the Czech Republic, expanding internationally before now combining complementary strengths to position Avast for continued growth in the security industry.
The acquisition follows further market M&A activity, with Symantec unveiling plans to acquire Blue Coat Systems for $US4.651 billion, in a move designed to bolster the tech giant’s cyber security portfolio, and fill its vacant CEO slot.
“We are in a rapidly changing industry, and this acquisition gives us the breadth and technological depth to be the security provider of choice for our current and future customers,” Avast Software CEO, Vince Steckler, said.
“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 the Internet of Things.”
Steckler said Avast is pursuing this acquisition to gain scale, technological depth and geographical breadth so that the new organisation can be in a position to take advantage of emerging growth opportunities in Internet Security as well as organisational efficiencies.
“The technological depth and geographical reach will help Avast serve customers with more advanced security offerings in the core business and new innovations in emerging markets, such as security for IoT devices,” he explained.
Combining Avast’s and AVG’s users, the organisation will have a network of more than 400 million endpoints, of which 160 million are mobile, that act as de facto sensors, providing information about malware to help detect and neutralise new threats as soon as they appear.
“This increase in scale will enable Avast to create more technically advanced personal security and privacy products,” Steckler added.
After being unanimously approved by the Management Board and Supervisory Board of Avast, the transaction is expected to close sometime between September 15, and October 15, 2016, depending on the timing of regulatory review.
“We believe that joining forces with Avast, a private company with significant resources, fully supports our growth objectives and represents the best interests of our stockholders,” AVG Technologies CEO, Gary Kovacs, added.
“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.
“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.”
