Compass Lexecon clients NortonLifeLock and Avast clear merger reviews in all global jurisdictions

On September 12, 2022, the $8.6B merger of NortonLifeLock (NLOK, Tempe, AZ) and Avast PLC (AVASF, Prague, Czechia) cleared merger control in all global jurisdictions following reviews from the US DOJ and the UK CMA. A Compass Lexecon team led by Mark Israel, Yair Eilat, and Ian MacSwain in the US, and Neil Dryden and Andy Parkinson in the UK provided substantive assistance on all aspects of the case.

Compass Lexecon presented several analyses to show that very low levels of customer overlap existed between the two consumer cybersecurity firms, including several discussions with DOJ lawyers and economists. Because Avast is located in the EU, Compass Lexecon’s analyses were subject to GDPR compliance, requiring hosting of the data in our UK data center and using high-security encryption to obfuscate and pseudonymize customer information. In the context of the Phase 2 review by the UK CMA, Compass Lexecon also produced additional evidence on customer switching to address the CMA’s queries on the analysis of customer overlaps. This included working with NortonLifeLock and Avast’s internal teams to implement changes to each firm’s ongoing consumer surveys.

Drs. Israel and Eilat were supported by a team led by Ian MacSwain in Compass Lexecon’s Washington, DC office, including Josephine Xu, Carlos Paez, Rudra Ramchandran, and Linjun Peng, while Neil Dryden and Andy Parkinson were supported by a team in Compass Lexecon’s European offices, including Segye Shin and Gwilhem Charbonnier.

NortonLifeLock is represented in the US by Andrea Murino, Jeff Ayer, Jack Coles, Sam Morelli, Chris Salvatore, Katie Drummonds, and Carlamaria Mata, and in the UK by Paula Riedel, Stephanie Greco, Matthew Sinclair-Thomson, and Athina Van Melkebeke at Kirkland and Ellis. Philip Mansfield, Imogen Carr, and David Weaver from Allen & Overy also advised in the UK. Avast is represented in the US by Rebecca Farrington, Kathryn Mims, and Tim Hickman, and by Marc Israel at White & Case in the UK.