Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Avast plc, the FTSE 100 global leader in digital security and privacy, on its merger with NortonLifeLock Inc, which is being structured as a takeover of Avast by NortonLifeLock.
White & Case partner Lucy Bullock, who co-led the Firm's deal team, said: "White & Case has forged a close relationship with Avast over the years advising on a number of key transactions including the initial private equity investment by Summit Partners in 2010, the minority investment by CVC Capital Partners in 2014, the acquisition of AVG Technologies in 2016 and its London IPO in 2018. This latest milestone transaction marks the next stage of Avast's exciting growth and development."
The merger implies an enterprise value for Avast of between approximately US$9.2 billion and US$8.6 billion, depending on Avast shareholders' elections. The merger will create a new, industry-leading consumer Cyber Safety business, leveraging the established brands, technology and innovation of both groups to deliver substantial benefits to consumers, shareholders and other stakeholders. On completion of the merger, the combined company will be dual headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, and Tempe, Arizona, USA, and will have a significant presence in the Czech Republic. The combined company will be listed on NASDAQ. Completion is expected to occur in 2022 and is subject to approval by the shareholders of Avast and NortonLifeLock and receipt of certain regulatory approvals.
"This is a transformational deal for Avast, and has been a truly global team effort across our offices, working closely with the Avast internal team," said White & Case partner Dominic Ross, who co-led the Firm's deal team. "This is the second FTSE 100 transaction that we have advised on in the last two weeks, having advised Smiths Group on the US$2.3 billion sale of Smiths Medical earlier in August. These transactions demonstrate our unrivalled ability to combine high quality UK plc advice with our powerhouse global M&A practice, particularly in the US, and for these reasons our clients are coming to us for their most strategically important and complex transactions."
The White & Case team which advised on the transaction was led by partners Dominic Ross, Lucy Bullock and Allan Taylor (all London), with support from partners Chang-Do Gong, Suni Sreepada, Justin Wagstaff (all New York), Jan Andrusko (Prague), Nicholas Greenacre, Marc Israel, Will Smith, Tim Hickman, Amanda Cowell, Jonah Anderson (all London), Mark Powell, Katarzyna Czapracka (both Brussels), Rebecca Farrington, Kathryn Mims (both Washington, DC) and Bryan Merryman (Houston), local partners Eva Svoboda, Jan Jakoubek (both Prague) and Alexandra Rogers (Brussels), and associates Lachlan Low, Sonica Tolani, Ben von Maur, Elena Ruggiu, Samirah Haujee, Shelley Barnett, Tiffanie Chan, Kate Russell, Peter North, Kate Kelliher, (all London), Iakovos Sarmas (Brussels) and Daniel Rosenthal (Washington, DC).
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