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AVG Technologies

AVG Technologies (formerly Grisoft) is an Amsterdam-based security software company in the Netherlands. The company was founded in 1991 by Jan Gritzbach and Tomáš Hofer.

The company has developed Internet security services such as AVG Antivirus. It has offices in Europe, Israel, Brazil, Canada, and the United States.

As of February 2, 2015, more than 200 million Internet users were using AVG's products and services, including Internet security, performance optimization, and privacy and identity protection applications.

In July 2016, Avast Software announced its intention to acquire AVG. The acquisition was completed on September 30, 2016. Avast and AVG have operated as a single company since October 3, 2016, maintaining their two separate brands.

History

The company was founded in Brno, Czech Republic by Jan Gritzbach and Tomáš Hofer in 1991 under the name GRISOFT / C / SOFTWARE, spol. S r.o.. It was owned by Jan Gritzbach.

In 2001 Jan Gritzbach sold Grisoft to Benson Oak Capital Acquisitions. The Wilmington, Delaware-based holding company Grisoft Inc. was used for the transaction. In 2002 the company was renamed GRISOFT, s.r.o..

Three years later, Benson Oak sold a 65% stake in the company to Intel Capital and Enterprise Investors for US $ 52 million5,6,7. The holding company was Grisoft Holdings B.V., based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, later renamed Grisoft International B.V., which gradually became the main company.

On April 19, 2006, Grisoft acquired the German company Ewido Networks, a manufacturer of spyware software, and incorporated Ewido functionality into new versions of the AVG software.

On November 6, 2006, Microsoft announced that AVG security products would be available directly from Windows Security Center in Windows Vista.

Since June 7, 2006, AVG software has also been used as an optional component of GFI MailSecurity, produced by GFI Software11. On December 5, 2007, Grisoft announced the acquisition of Exploit Prevention Labs, a developer of the LinkScanner secure browsing technology.

In 2008, GRISOFT, s.r.o. was renamed AVG Technologies CZ, s.r. and Grisoft International B.V. became AVG Technologies, N.V.. These changes were made to increase the effectiveness of their marketing activities.

In January 2009, AVG announced the completion of its plans to acquire Sana Security. The technologies developed by Sana Security were then licensed to Symantec.

On October 5, 2009, TA Associates purchased a minority stake in AVG Technologies for more than US $ 200 million.

In April 2010, AVG announced the appointment of security industry veteran Yuval Ben-Itzhak as senior vice president of engineering. Ben-Itzhak became the chief technology officer later this year.

On June 9, 2010, AVG announced the acquisition of Walling Data, a North Carolina-based security software distribution company based in North Carolina, which had distributed AVG products in the United States since 2001.

On November 10, 2010, AVG announced the acquisition of DroidSecurity of Tel Aviv, a company specializing in mobile security solutions for the Android operating system. DroidSecurity became a wholly-owned subsidiary of AVG and DroidSecurity CEO and Founder, Eran Pfeffer, became the Managing Director of AVG's mobile solutions team.

In December 2010, AVG released a mandatory update to its antivirus software that had rendered thousands of computers unusable as a result of the previous update. AVG also released a patch that attempted to repair computers damaged by the update. Affected users could watch a video on AVG's official YouTube page to resolve the issue.

On January 28, 2011, a dangerous malicious program appeared, borrowing the name, interface, and graphics of the real AVG antivirus. This malicious program caused problems for several users who installed it, believing they were installing the real AVG antivirus.

On December 1, 2011, AVG Technologies announced the acquisition of B secure Technologies inc. (B secure), a leading provider of proprietary cloud-based technology in the internet filtering industry since 2001 and the # 1 recommended software provider for online parental control.

In 2011, the group was restructured again. AVG Technologies Holdings B.V. was founded, having AVG Technologies CZ, s.r.o. and AVG Technologies, N.V. as subsidiaries.

On February 7, 2012, AVG Technologies, N.V. went public on the ny stock market.

On June 12, 2013, AVG Technologies announced the acquisition of Level Platforms. On July 30, 2013, AVG Technologies announced that Gary Kovacs was the new CEO of the company.

In November 2014, AVG Technologies announced the acquisition of Norman Safeground AS, an Oslo-based company known for the Norman suite of security products.

AVG Technologies announced in May 2015 the acquisition of Privax, a UK-based company that owns the HideMyAss VPN service.

In September 2015, the company announced the acquisition of Location Labs, a company with personal security products on the four major US cellular carriers.

On July 7, 2016, Avast Software announced its intention to acquire AVG Technologies for a purchase price of US $ 25 per share in cash, for a total of approximately $ 1.3 billion3. The acquisition closed on September 30, 2016, and Avast and AVG have operated as a single company since October 3, 2016. The company was delisted from the NY Stock Exchange.