More security acquisitions today, with Intel announcing its plans to buy McAfee for about $7.7 billion in cash. The chip maker is looking to expand its own security service offerings, and this acquisition marks its biggest move towards that goal.
Intel will pay $48 a share for McAfee, a 60 percent premium for the antivirus software maker. McAfee may have earned it–the company reported $2 billion in revenue last year
The acquisition also notes the rising demands around security, for hardware and software. It’s particularly important for businesses and consumers, as interest and needs grow around cloud-storage, remote access, consumer-driven media sharing through open networks. From Intel’s released statement,
“In the past, energy-efficient performance and connectivity have defined computing requirements,” Paul Otellini, Intel’s chief executive, said in a statement. “Looking forward, security will join those as a third pillar of what people demand from all computing experiences.”
Moving forward, a primary area for Intel to focus its broader security efforts on is the mobile industry. McAfee is one of the many large players in the securities arena that has launched mobile security efforts, which have risen in demand along with other cloud-storage and access trends. It’s a direction the company noted after its noted settlement with the FTC, particularly as Intel looks to stay ahead of the curve and into a more cross-device, needs-based environment.
[...] line with its quest to expand its mobile security horizon, Intel agrees to pay a whopping $7.7 billion to acquire McAfee, a California-based computer security company. The wait is almost over as the deal is just one [...]