Avast Software s.r.o., the company behind a popular free antivirus sweet, has just purchased its rival AVG Technologies N.V. for $1.3 billion, proving that the consumer cyber security market is still alive and kicking. According to a press release, Avast will be paying $25.00 per share to purchase AVG.

Both Avast and AVG were originally founded in the Czech Republic, which was Czechoslovakia at the time, in the 1990s and have since become two of the biggest names in home antivirus software.  Avast says that it will use to acquisition to gain both scale and greater technological depth.

“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,” Vince Steckler, CEO of Avast Software, said in a statement. “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.”

Through the acquisition of AVG, Avast says that its network will now have over 400 million endpoints, roughly 40 percent of which come from mobile devices.

“We believe that joining forces with Avast, a private company with significant resources, fully supports our growth objectives and represents the best interests of our stockholders,” said Gary Kovacs, CEO of AVG. “Our new scale will allow us to accelerate investments in growing markets and continue to focus on providing comprehensive and simple-to-use solutions for consumers and businesses, alike.

“As the definition of online security continues to shift from being device-centric, to being concerned with devices, data and people, we believe the combined company, with the strengthened value proposition, will emerge as a leader in this growing market.”

As a publically traded company, AVG’s shareholders will still need to approve the acquisition before it can happen, but Avast noted in its release that it expects the transaction to close by October 15, 2016.

Image courtesy of AVG Technologies