UK authorities give preliminary green light to huge Avast deal

The UK’s anti-trust office the CMA has granted preliminary approval to the sale of the Czech anti-virus company Avast to US software firm NortonLifeLock for USD 8.6 billion. A final ruling on the deal will be issued in early September.

The huge transaction has already been approved by anti-monopoly authorities in the United States, Spain and Germany.

Avast, which was founded in 1988, was a pioneer of computer security. It reports 435 million customers around the world, with most using Avast products free of charge.