Tempe-based LifeLock agrees to be acquired by Symantec in $2.3B deal

Computer security giant Symantec said it will buy the Tempe-based identity protection service LifeLock for $2.3 billion.

Symantec will finance the deal with a combination of cash and $750 million of new debt, the company said in a statement. The deal will close during the first calendar quarter of 2017.

The combination of LifeLock and Norton, Symantec’s suite of antivirus and anti-spyware tools, will help the company deliver “comprehensive” protection for consumers, said Symantec CEO Greg Clark.

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

Symantec sees a growing market for digital safety, estimated at $10 billion and 80 million consumers.

“People’s identity and data are prime targets of cybercrime,” said Symantec board chairman Dan Schulman. “The security industry must step up and defend through innovation and vigilance.”

Shares of LifeLock rallied 14% in morning trading Monday, while Symantec shares were flat.

The logo of Symantec Corp., is displayed at the CeBIT technology fair in Hanover, Germany, on Tuesday, March 6, 2012. (Photo: Michele Tantussi, Bloomberg)

LifeLock is best known for an advertising campaign touting its identity protection services which includes its former CEO Todd Davis sharing his Social Security number.

In 2010, the Federal Trade Commission said it reached a deal with LifeLock where the company would pay $12 million to settle claims it used false advertising to push its identity protection services.

Last year, LifeLock reached another deal with the FTC to pay $100 million for violating terms of a 2010 court order to secure consumers’ personal information and stop deceptive advertising practices.

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