August 12, 2021: Cyber security leaders NortonLifeLock and Avast are  to merge in a $ 8.6 billion deal, where Norton will  acquire all Avast shares, and create a  jumbo cyber security firm.
Avast, founded in the Czech Republic, has been  offering  consumer and small enterprise solutions  for 11 years. It acquired  another popular Net security brand, AVG five years ago.
Norton, named after creator Peter Norton, author of a slate of  popular PC utilities  from 1982, was acquired by Symantec in 1990.  In 2019  when Symantec was acquired by Broadcom, Norton left out of the deal and has been operating standalone as NortonLifeLock since then. LifeLock is a brand that Symantec had acquired in 2016
On completion of the merger, the combined company will be dual-headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, and Tempe, Arizona, USA, and will have a significant presence in the Czech Republic.
Said Vincent Pilette, Chief Executive Officer of NortonLifeLoc: “With this combination, we can strengthen our Cyber Safety platform and make it available to more than 500 million users. We will also have the ability to further accelerate innovation to transform Cyber Safety.”
“At a time when global cyber threats are growing, yet cyber safety penetration remains very low, together with NortonLifeLock, we will be able to accelerate our shared vision of providing holistic cyber protection for consumers around the globe,” said OndÅ™ej Vlček, Chief Executive Officer of Avast. “Through our well-established brands, greater geographic diversification and access to a larger global user base, the combined businesses will be poised to access the significant growth opportunity that exists worldwide.”