McAfee Sold to Investor Group for $14bn

McAfee’s storied history took another turn this week after it announced a $14bn takeover by private investors.

The all-cash deal will see ownership of the firm transferred to an investor group led by Advent International Permira Advisers LLC, Crosspoint Capital Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, GIC Private, 

and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

It’s the latest twist in an increasingly complicated corporate tale for the security giant, widely regarded as launching the first-ever anti-virus product back in 1987.

Since then, Intel bought it for nearly $8bn in 2010 and rebranded to Intel Security, before the chip giant partnered with TPG seven years later to turn the firm into a jointly owned, independent cybersecurity company, with the McAfee name returning.

McAfee’s enterprise business was then sold to Symphony Technology Group for $4bn earlier this year.

That left a consumer-focused cybersecurity company that the investor group has just purchased for $26 per share, which it claimed is a 23% premium on McAfee’s closing share price last week.

Bryan Taylor, head of Advent’s technology investment team and a managing partner in Palo Alto, argued that McAfee is still one of the world’s most trusted consumer brands.

“As consumers face new and complex cyber risks, we see tremendous opportunity to build on McAfee’s differentiated technology platform to continue delivering innovative solutions that can protect all facets of the digital lives of people around the world,” he claimed.

“We look forward to working alongside our investment partners and the talented McAfee team to continue setting the bar for consumer digital protection.”

The group certainly appears to have industry experience on its side. Crosspoint Capital managing partner, Greg Clark, is a former CEO of Symantec.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2022.