Avast absorbs AVG for $1.4billion
Avast absorbs AVG for 1.4 billion dollars
Avast in July announced that it was going to acquire AVG. The acquisition deal was for $1.3bn. The deal was made in order to help scale out geographically and to also expand product offerings in the Internet of Things Market. Internet of Things refers to internet connected devices that cover everything from cars and smart meters to fridges and smart TVs.
Today Avast confirmed that it has closed the acquisition deal. It bought AVG Technologies, a security scanner rival, for $1.4 billion. This was $100 million more than the initial deal. It was used to pay off AVG’s debt.
It is expected that Avast’s customer base will nearly double.
The acquisition has been completed within the originally slated timeframe.
According to TechCrunch, Steckler said the two companies had been circling each other for decades, given their shared industry and business location. And finally this summer Avast convinced AVG they were better off as one.
“This was, I think, the fourth attempt we have made in the last two or two and a half years to buy AVG,” he said.
“We approached them, we got kind of tired of being constantly turned down — so we approached them kind of one last time and told them hey we’ll pay this amount, no higher, no negotiations, tell us yes or no. And they said yes. That came together very, very quick — within a matter of days, really.”
But while competitive spirit kept them apart for years — a combination of “pride and arrogance” on both sides, reckons Steckler — larger forces reshaping the computing landscape and the security market are evidently driving them together now. “There’s a better long term future for a combined entity, than two smaller, standalone entities.”