Symantec to buy identity and fraud prevention firm LifeLock for $2.3bn

Purchase aimed at boosting consumer offerings

Security giant Symantec is to buy LifeLock, a consumer-oriented provider of identity and fraud prevention services, for $2.3bn.

Greg Clark, Symantec's CEO, said: "As we all know, consumer cyber crime has reached crisis levels. LifeLock is a leading provider of identity and fraud protection services, with over 4.4 million highly satisfied members and growing."

Clark explained that combining the firm's existing Norton product with those offered by LifeLock will leave Symantec well placed in the consumer market.

"This acquisition marks the transformation of the consumer security industry from malware protection to the broader category of digital safety for consumers," he said.

LifeLock CEO Hilary Schneider added that the deal is a great move for the company that will take its offerings to an even wider audience.

"Together with Symantec we can deploy enhanced technology and analytics to provide our customers with unparalleled information and identity protection services," she said.

Symantec values the digital security market at over $10bn and said that it is growing at a rapid rate, with some 80 million potential new customers in the US alone.

"People's identity and data are prime targets of cyber crime. The security industry must step up and defend through innovation and vigilance," said Dan Schulman, Symantec's chairman.

"With the acquisition of LifeLock, Symantec adds a new dimension to its protection capabilities to address the expanding needs of the consumer marketplace."

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.

This is the second major purchase by Symantec after announcing a deal to acquire security software firm Blue Coat for $4.65bn earlier this year.

Symantec said the deal will help to merge its threat telemetry with Blue Coat's networks and cloud security offerings, thereby expanding the scope of protection that both firms can offer.