News | June 12, 2013

AVG Technologies Acquires The Business Of LPI Level Platforms

Acquisition furthers AVG’s vision for delivering cloud-based, cross platform services to consumers and small business customers

AVG Technologies N.V. the provider of Internet and mobile security, privacy and optimization to 150 million active users, recently announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire, subject to closing, the business of LPI Level Platforms Inc., a leading remote monitoring and management software company.

Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, LPI Level Platforms provides next generation remote monitoring and management software (RMM) through Managed Workplace, its award-winning cloud-based remote monitoring and management platform. With its advanced hybrid agentless architecture, this platform provides visibility and unified management of the entire IT infrastructure, including devices, applications, networks and cloud, while providing superior ease of use, security and control for the user.

The acquisition will enhance AVG’s cloud-based services model by adding LPI Level Platforms’ Managed Workplace software to AVG CloudCare, integrating products such as RMM and Mobile Device Management (MDM). In addition, it will significantly expand AVG’s distributor network by adding over 1,500 active LPI Level Platform Managed Service Providers (MSP) partners.

“Since founding the company our mission has been to establish LPI Level Platforms as the ubiquitous remote monitoring, management and automation platform for IT service providers around the world,” said Peter Sandiford, LPI Level Platforms’ CEO. “By adding LPI Level Platforms software to the AVG portfolio, AVG will be in a position to deliver the most comprehensive, innovative, high quality and high performance platform for SMBs and their MSPs in the market.”

“Our two companies share a goal of delivering a powerful, cloud-based IT management platform for MSPs that profoundly simplifies the way you service and protect your small business customers,” added John Giamatteo, Chief Operating Officer of AVG Technologies. “AVG is in a position to develop LPI Level Platforms’ product portfolio and deliver a significantly enhanced product offering globally, leveraging our brand and organization to support growth. The technology requirements for small businesses are increasing day by day as the world migrates towards a mobile working environment. AVG has the infrastructure and partner base to enable customer growth in a safe, cost-effective and secure way.”

AVG CloudCare provides small business resellers and MSPs with a free-of-charge, easy-to-use, cloud-based administrative platform, allowing them to remotely deploy and manage their clients’ security with AVG antivirus. AVG CloudCare has amassed more than 1,000 reseller partners and is already managing tens of thousands of small business endpoints across the UK and North America.

Acquisition Overview

  • LPI Level Platforms’ cloud-based and Software-as-a-Service (SAAS) recurring revenue stream is a natural complement to the AVG SMB CloudCare model. LPI Level Platforms and AVG share the same ‘go to market’ approach in the rapidly growing cloud-based services SMB segment.
  • The combination of LPI Level Platforms’ cloud-based RMM/MDM portfolio strengthens AVG’s AntiVirus, content filtering, back-up and optimization portfolio, creating a best of breed platform to address small businesses’ real needs today and tomorrow.
  • From a technology perspective, the convergence of IT management and security is a natural evolution, particularly in the IT services market and the wider SMB market.
  • The combination of both reseller channels (AVG 10,000+ and LPI Platforms 1,500+) provides immediate and sustainable opportunities to cross-sell and upsell both portfolios to each partner base and scale the business globally.

Deal Terms and Financials

  • AVG expects to realize significant synergies by combining platforms and business operations, with the objective of making the acquisition accretive quickly.
  • AVG expects $5M of subscription revenue related to the transaction in the second half 2013, which is expected to be neutral to non-GAAP earnings. In 2014, subscription revenue is projected to be $15M and non-GAAP EPS is projected to be in the range of 6-10 cents for this business.

About LPI Level Platforms
LPI Level Platforms provides Managed Workplace, the remote monitoring and management software and services platform used by thousands of IT service providers around the world to deliver comprehensive IT support to small and midsized businesses. Level Platforms' hybrid agentless technology, extensive management and automation features, deep integration into the IT ecosystem and fully integrated white label support services allow IT services providers to remotely support all of the information technology products and services their end customers rely on from a single, web-based dashboard. For more information, visit www.levelplatforms.com.

About AVG Technologies
AVG’s mission is to simplify, optimize and secure the Internet experience, providing peace of mind to a connected world. AVG’s powerful yet easy-to-use software and online services put users in control of their Internet experience. By choosing AVG’s software and services, users become part of a trusted global community that benefits from inherent network effects, mutual protection and support. AVG has grown its user base to 150M active users as of March 31, 2013, and offers a product portfolio that targets the consumer and small business markets and includes Internet security, PC performance optimization, online backup, mobile security, identity protection and family safety software. For more information, visit www.avg.com

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
This press release contains non-GAAP financial measures. The presentation of this supplemental non-GAAP financial information, which is not prepared under any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles, is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.

Because of these limitations, investors should rely on AVG's consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and treat AVG's non-GAAP financial measures as supplemental information only.

AVG is providing these non-GAAP financial measures because it believes that such measures provide important supplemental information to management and investors about AVG's core operating results, primarily because the non-GAAP financial measures exclude certain expenses and other amounts that management does not consider to be indicative of AVG's core operating results or business outlook. AVG management uses these non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to the corresponding U.S. GAAP financial measures, in evaluating AVG's operating performance, in planning and forecasting future periods, in making decisions regarding business operations and allocation of resources, and in comparing AVG's performance against its historical performance. 

Source: AVG Technologies