U.K. Competition Watchdog Gives Final Clearance to Norton-Avast Merger

By Scott Kanowsky 

Investing.com -- NortonLifeLock Inc's (NASDAQ:NLOK) planned £6 billion acquisition of rival Avast PLC (LON:AVST) was given final clearance by the U.K.'s competition watchdog on Friday, further cementing the closure of a deal that will create a massive cybersecurity player with half a billion customers.

U.S.-based NortonLifeLock said the merger with Czech peer Avast is now set to close on September 12, in line with its previous timeline laid out when the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority first gave provisional approval to the tie-up in early August.

At the time, the CMA said its review of the agreement assuaged concerns that the combined company would not have significant corporate challengers. The regulators cited software firm McAfee as a principal source of competition for Avast and NortonLifeLock, adding that tech giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) would also contend with these companies through its Windows operating system.

In a statement on Friday, the CMA said that the preliminary decision was upheld following a consultation process that ended on August 24.

"After reviewing the evidence in an in-depth review, we are now satisfied that this deal won’t worsen the options available to consumers. As such, we have concluded that the deal can go ahead," said CMA inquiry group chair Kirstin Baker.

U.K.-listed shares in Avast were trading slightly higher in mid-morning deals.

The cash-and-stock agreement was initially announced in 2021, with both companies keen to create a large software security firm that could keep pace with tech groups like Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).