UK cybersecurity firm Avast PLC (LON:AVST) confirmed talks are at an advanced stage over a merger with US rival NortonLifeLock Inc (NASDAQ:NLOK), formerly known as Symantec.
A statement said the deal would be structured as a cash and shares offer.
Avast is known for its desktop and laptop protections products, while Norton is known for anti-virus and identity theft protection ranges.
At the close of trading last night, Avast shares were trading at 504.2p, valuing the group at £5.2bn.
Cybersecurity is growing rapidly due to an upsurge in the number of hacking attacks both on businesses and individuals.
In 2020, there were a reported 4.8 trillion intrusion attempts, a 20% increase compared to 2019.
Malware attacks (which is malicious software that attackers use to extract protected data) amounted to 5.6bn while there has been a surge in ransomware breaches, which is when hackers demand payment otherwise they will cause disruption or delete files.
This kind of attack soared by 62% to 304mln attacks compared to 2019, according to research by firewall provider SonicWall.