CMA Raises Competition Concerns over NortonLifeLock’s £6bn Avast Acquisition

The Competition and Markets Authority describes both cybersecurity firms as “close competitors, with few other significant rivals”.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says NortonLifeLock’s £6 billion purchase of Avast raises competition concerns and may now be referred for an in-depth investigation.

NortonLifeLock and Avast both offer cyber safety software to consumers and businesses under a variety of different brands. Products include antivirus software (also known as endpoint security software), privacy software (such as VPNs) and identity protection software.

NortonLifeLock is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, while Avast is in Prague. It was in August last year that NortonLifeLock confirmed it was buying Avast.

Today (16 March), David Stewart, CMA Executive Director, explains: “Unless the companies can offer a clear-cut solution to address our concerns, we intend to carry out an in-depth phase 2 investigation.”

The watchdog describes both cybersecurity firms as “close competitors, with few other significant rivals”.

NortonLifeLock and Avast now have five working days to submit proposals to address the CMA’s competition concerns. The CMA then has a further five working days to consider whether to accept any offer instead of referring the case for an in-depth phase 2 investigation.

NortonLifeLock was created in 2019 as a spin-off from Symantec. Last year, NortonLifeLock said the acquisition would create $280 million (£214 million) of annual gross cost synergies.

Avast is a FTSE 100 company and was founded in 1988. The cybersecurity firm has more than 435 million users. It has offices in the Czech Republic, US, Europe, China and Japan.

In 2021, NortonLifeLock confirmed the new combined entity will be headquartered in both the Czech Republic and Arizona. The plan is to reduce the number of employees from 5,000 to about 4,000.

That Avast deal in 2021 came hot on the heels of NortonLifeLock confirming it will buy Germany-based antivirus provider Avira for $360 million (£275 million). The latter acquisition is anticipated to close in mid-2022.

Antony Peyton
Antony Peyton
Antony Peyton is the Editor of eWeek UK. He has 18 years' journalism and writing experience. His career has taken him to China, Japan and the UK - covering tech, fintech and business. Follow on Twitter @TonyFintech.
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