CVC-backed Avast sets price range for £2.5-3.2bn IPO

The company is aiming for a market cap of £2.5-3.2bn in the listing, which is planned for 10 May, according to a media report. It expects a free-float of 25%.

Shareholders of the company comprise the founders (46%), CVC (29%), management, the board and employees (18%) and Summit Partners (7%).

Avast posted revenues of $780m and EBITDA of $451m last year, and an estimated enterprise value of $5.9bn given net debt of $1.35bn, according to the report.

According to the company, it has 435 million users worldwide as of 31 December 2017, including 290 million personal computer software users, and 145 million mobile users.

Morgan Stanley and UBS Investment Bank are joint global coordinators, joint bookrunners and joint sponsors on the upcoming listing. Other joint bookrunners include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Bank, Credit Suisse and Jefferies International.

Summit Partners invested $100m in growth capital for a minority stake in the Czech software vendor in August 2010.

CVC Capital Partners backed Avast in a deal that valued the business at $1bn in February 2014. The investment underpinned the company's reach in the mobile security space and its expansion into the US and Asia. Credit Suisse, UBS and Jefferies provided financing to support the company, including further resources for investments and acquisitions. Summit Partners remained a shareholder alongside the firm's founders, Pavel Baudiš and Eduard Kucera.

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