Avast will acquire the rival AVG for $ 1.3 billion

Avast will acquire the rival AVG for $ 1.3 billion

The giant of the security software Avast Software has acquired the company competitor AVG Technologies, paying $ 25 for each of the outstanding ordinary shares of AVG. The overall agreement is about 1.3 billion US dollars. Established in Czechoslovakia in the early 90s under the name of Grisoft, AVG has gradually grown to become one of the leading names in security for desktop and mobile systems, also offering related services such as AVG Cleaner for Android and Mac. The company's headquarters is He was later moved to Amsterdam, where he still resides.

Even the Avast origins can be traced back to Czechoslovakia, as the company was founded in the city of Prague in 1988. He has since become one of the leading brands of the computer security industry, and today boasts according to the most recent report about a fifth the entire global antivirus market. Despite being mostly known in this environment, Avast has moved recently to other categories, and in recent months has launched a new project to discover the best Wi-Fi hotspot using data obtained in crowdsourcing.

Avast said it will acquire AVG to "increase in size, technological depth, and geographic breadth," so they can "take advantage of emerging growth opportunities in the Internet security and at the same time greater organizational efficiency." The company that will be formed by the merger of the two brands will have access to 400 million endpoints, ie devices that have an Avast or AVG software installed. Access to a larger number of devices will provide more information on the malware, and then reflexively safer and more reliable products than in the past.

"We are in an industry that is changing rapidly, and this acquisition gives us the breadth and depth of technology to be the choice as a provider of security of our current and future customers," said Vincent Steckler, CEO of Avast. "By combining the strengths of two large technology companies, both founded in the Czech Republic and with a culture and a common mission, we will put in an ideal position to take advantage of new opportunities, such as the security for the tremendous growth in the Internet sector some things".

Although the acquisition has been approved by both boards of directors of the two companies , AVG is a publicly traded company, so it was not until well investor response. Avast is still confident of concluding the transaction between the months of September and October of 2016.