By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – NortonLifeLock (NASDAQ:NLOK) stock plunged 9% Wednesday after Britain's anti-trust regulator said the company’s proposed $8.6 billion purchase of Avast (LON:AVST) needed a deeper probe owing to competition concerns.
Avast stock was down 13% in London trading after the Competition and Markets Authority said the deal could lead to British customers getting a worse deal when looking for security software.
The CMA's findings are based on an initial investigation, and the regulator has called on the companies to submit proposals to allay its concerns or face an in-depth probe, according to Reuters.
NortonLifeLock said it did not plan to propose any remedies, calling the CMA's decision "surprising".
Under the deal announced in August, Avast shareholders were to get a mix of cash and newly issued shares. NortonLifeLock expected the merger to result in cost savings of $280 million.
If the deal fructifies, the new company will serve more than 500 million users including around 40 million direct customers.
Demand for digital security products has boomed in the last two years as a blended office lifestyle prompted higher demand for solutions to protect devices from viruses and cyber-attacks.