“We are in a rapidly changing industry, and this acquisition gives us the breadth and technological depth to be the security provider of choice for our current and future customers,” said Avast CEO Vince Steckler in a blog press release on the Avast website announcing the news.
The new merger will give Avast access a combined total of over 400 million devices running both companies’ software. Crucially, as the market shifts increasingly toward more mobile orientated hardware, the takeover will mean that that Avast will have software running on around 160 million phones and tablets, the company reported earlier this week.
Of course, both companies are perhaps known best to the wider world for their free antivirus and anti-malware software currently available for Windows PCs, Macs and Android devices. However, both companies also sell “Professional” versions of the same software with additional features. Both companies also feature Internet security applications for business.
Steckler also said:
“Both are innovators with world class R&D teams. Both have most of their users outside of their home Czech market. Both have had similar user bases for many years: about 200M each. And most importantly, both treat their users with respect and consequently each has a large and loyal user base. One slight difference though is that while Avast is a private company, AVG is public and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In spite of this one difference, these companies are so similar that it is only natural that they be combined and that is what we are now planning on doing.”
The merger also means that Avast could potentially overtake the current market leader Microsoft, who have an anti-malware market share of 15.9 percent, which would also make it the largest antivirus company in the world.
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