Avast has acquired rival AVG Technologies for $1.3 billion as it appears the security market is headed for a period of contraction. AVG was originally called Grisoft and came from Czechoslovakia. It has grown to become one of the biggest brands in desktop and mobile security apps. The company is now headquartered in Amsterdam.
Avast’s origins can also be traced back to the Czechoslovakia, but it has become a top online security outfit and controls a fifth of the global antivirus software market.
Though it is better known for its security software, Avast has branched out into other verticals — earlier this year, the company launched a new initiative to reveal the best Wi-Fi hotspots, using crowdsourced data.
Avast said that it’s acquiring AVG to “gain scale, technological depth, and geographical breadth” and so it can “take advantage of emerging growth opportunities in internet security, as well as organizational efficiencies”.
The combined company will have access to “400 million endpoints” almost half of those are mobile. CEO of Avast Vincent Steckler, said the industry was changing rapidly and this acquisition gives us the breadth and technological depth to be the security provider of choice for our current and future customers.
“Combining the strengths of two great tech companies, both founded in the Czech Republic and with a common culture and mission, will put us in a great position to take advantage of the new opportunities ahead, such as security for the enormous growth in IoT,” Steckler said.
Avast says it expects the transaction to close between September and October 2016 if the shareholders approve.