NortonLifeLock Inc., a global leader in consumer Cyber Safety, received provisional approval from the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") for its acquisition of Avast plc. NortonLifeLock also released its results for the fiscal year 2023 first quarter, which ended July 1, 2022. "We are excited to start the process of bringing our two companies together now that the CMA has approved our merger with Avast," said Vincent Pilette, CEO of NortonLifeLock. "With this key milestone behind us, we are looking forward to driving innovation and taking Cyber Safety to the next level."

The merger is anticipated to close between mid-September to early-October. The timing is subject to change and is dependent upon the final CMA approval, mutually agreed upon operational considerations and customary closing requirements such as the U.K. court approval of the scheme.

NortonLifeLock , a global leader in consumer Cyber Safety, and Avast, a global leader in digital security and privacy, are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended merger of Avast with NortonLifeLock, in the form of a recommended offer by NortonLifeLock, for the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Avast.

Under the terms of the merger Avast shareholders will be entitled to receive a combination of cash consideration and newly issued shares in NortonLifeLock with alternative consideration elections available. Based on NortonLifeLock's closing share price of USD 27.20 on July 13, 2021 (being the last trading day for NortonLifeLock shares before market speculation began in relation to the merger on July 14, 2021, resulting in the commencement of the offer period), the merger values Avast's entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital between approximately USD 8.1B and USD 8.6B, depending on Avast shareholders' elections.

Today Symantec announced Norton Zone for consumers, a new secure file sharing service that allows users to safely access, sync and share photos, videos and documents from any of their PC, Mac, Android or iOS devices. A free, limited public beta can be accessed at www.nortonzone.com on a first-come, first-served basis. The full-featured version of Norton Zone is slated to be released in the U.S. in 2013.