GoDaddy receives takeover offer from maker of Norton antivirus software

The maker of Norton 360 antivirus software has made a takeover offer for web domain provider GoDaddy, in a push to broaden its business beyond cyber security and privacy technology.

Talks between Gen Digital and GoDaddy are at an early stage and there are no guarantees that the initial takeover approach will result in a transaction, according to people familiar with the matter. The would-be acquirer’s first offer was made in recent weeks, the people said.

Gen Digital was created by the 2022 merger of NortonLifeLock and Czech rival Avast. The company has become a consolidator of consumer-facing cyber security brands, including computer clean-up software CCleaner, online privacy tool ReputationDefender and identity theft protection provider LifeLock.

For Gen Digital, a swoop for GoDaddy, a company of a relatively similar valuation, would mark a transformational deal, as legacy software companies race to scale up to buttress against the threat from AI to their business models. The exact terms of the offer could not immediately be established.

A tie-up with GoDaddy would combine some of the best-known brands that survived the first wave of the internet. It would give Gen Digital access to GoDaddy’s customer base of more than 20mn small businesses and individuals who use it to register and manage their internet domain names. The company controls about 81mn web domains, about one-fifth of the total registered globally.

GoDaddy shares jumped to be 8.7 per cent higher on Wall Street following the FT report, giving the company a market capitalisation of $13.2bn. Gen Digital shares fell 5.2 per cent, giving the group a market value of $14.8bn.

Gen Digital and GoDaddy declined to comment. Both companies are headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

The talks come at a time of renewed investor interest in old-school internet brands, with Italian software roll-up Bending Spoons, which owns AOL and Vimeo, pulling off a blockbuster listing at a $25.7bn initial valuation at the start of the summer.

Gen Digital has already shown ambitions to pivot away from its core competency of cyber security, having bought fintech lender MoneyLion in a deal valued at $1bn last year.

GoDaddy first emerged during the dotcom boom era. A consortium led by private equity groups Silver Lake Capital Management and KKR took GoDaddy private in 2011, before listing it again on public markets four years later. Last year, GoDaddy reported almost $5bn in revenue. Its share price has fallen 55 per cent from a record high early last year.

GoDaddy is combating investor concerns that AI-powered web-building tools could undercut its business with the rollout of its own Aire.ai platform, which helps users create websites and logos with the assistance of an agent.