LifeLock (NYSE: LOCK) will soon be under the umbrella of computer security specialist Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC), which announced Sunday that it’s buying the identity theft prevention business for $24 per share in a deal valued at $2.3 billion.The price represents a premium of nearly 16% to LifeLock’s closing stock price on Friday.
In their joint press release announcing the deal, the companies touted the synergistic value of their marriage. Symantec’s CEO Greg Clark said that, together, the pair “will be able to deliver comprehensive cyber defense for consumers.”
“This acquisition marks the transformation of the consumer security industry from malware protection to the broader category of Digital Safety for consumers,” he added.
Symantec anticipates that it will finance the deal with cash on hand, supplemented by $750 million in new debt. At the end of its most recently reported quarter, the company had more than enough cash on its balance sheet for the purpose — just over $5.6 billion.
Symantec, which has had its share of recent struggles, clearly now sees acquisition as its path to meaningful growth. In August, it closed another large-scale deal, the $4.65 billion acquisition of web security solutions provider Blue Coat.
The acquisition has been approved by the boards of directors of both LifeLock and Symantec, but remains subject to approval from the former’s shareholders. The two companies anticipate that the transaction will close in the first quarter of 2017.
Symantec does not expect that the deal will have any material impact on its fiscal 2017 results. It forecast that it will be accretive to adjusted, per-share net earnings in fiscal 2019.
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Eric Volkman has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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