Benzinga | Aug 11, 2021 03:46PM EDT

NortonLifeLock Shares Pop On Avast Merger Confirmation

* Consumer cyber safety company NortonLifeLock Inc (NASDAQ:NLOK) agreed to acquire digital security and privacy company Avast PLC (OTC:AVASF) at a valuation between $8.1 billion - $8.6 billion.

* NortonLifeLock's closing share price of $27.20 on July 13 was the last trading day for NortonLifeLock shares before the merger speculation began on July 14

* The combination will help to strengthen the Cyber Safety platform and make it available to over 500 million users, NortonLifeLock CEO Vincent Pilette said.

* The Wall Street Journal reported that the companies expect the merger to drive double-digit per-share earnings growth in the first full year following the transaction's completion and generate around $3.5 billion in revenue.

* The deal is likely to close in the middle of next year.

* NortonLifeLock held $1.2 billion in cash and equivalents as of July 2.

* Price Action: NLOK shares traded higher by 8.73% at $26.25 on the last check Wednesday.