White & Case, Allen & Overy, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek have won advisory roles as security software giant Avast Software buys AVG Technologies for $1.3bn.
Backed by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, the acquisition will allow Avast Software to move into the ever-growing smartphone market, offering software to protect phones from malware and broadening out its international reach.
Avast will begin a tender offer for Amsterdam-based AVG Technologies at $25 a share in cash, the companies said in a statement today (7 July). The offer is 33% above AVG Technologies’ closing price yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange.
White & Case and Dutch firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek are advising Prague headquartered Avast, while AVG Technologies turned to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and Allen & Overy. Allen & Overy’s team, based in Amsterdam was led by partner Jan Louis Burggraaf with Christiaan de Brauw and Joyce Leemrijse.
For Orrick, corporate partner Peter Lamb led the team representing AVG, alongside M&A and private equity partners Ed Batts and Richard Vernon Smith.
Allen & Overy has advised AVG Technologies in the past, acting for the software provider last year when it acquired software firm Privax for $60m.
Ian Bagshaw leads the White & Case team advising Avast with London partners Caroline Sherrell, Justin Wagstaff working alongside US-based partners Chang-Do Gong, Farhad Jalinous and Rebecca Farrington, as well as Brussels-based Mark Powell.
White & Case has forged a close relationship with Avast, acting on a number of transactions including Summit Partners initial private equity investment years ago and CVC Capital Partners investment in 2014. Avast had planned to IPO back in 2012 but changed its mind due to market conditions.
Bagshaw (pictured) said: ‘Advising on this exciting acquisition is another milestone in our long relationship with the company, and a clear demonstration of the truly global nature of the integrated service White & Case provides to help clients achieve their ambitions.’
madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk