Intel to buy McAfee as it eyes wireless market

Intel is buying internet security firm McAfee for $7.68 billion, as the computer chip giant seeks to expand its reach to mobile and wireless devices.

Intel, whose processors power nearly 80 per cent of computers worldwide, has arranged to pay 48 dollars per share for all of McAfee‘s common stock, a 60 per cent premium on the security vendor’s closing value on Wednesday.

Panda Security chief executive officer Juan Santana welcomed the Intel move as good news for the industry and said he suspected that a factor in McAfee’s decision to sell was increasingly tough competition in the market.

“As we have been saying all along, security has to be a pillar in next-generation computing,” Mr Santana said.

“Time will tell if the acquisition is good news or not for McAfee and Intel’s users, partners, employees and shareholders; but I agree that it is clearly elevating the importance of IT security to new heights.”

Intel had also been eyeing McAfee technology for keeping data secure in “cloud computing,” a growing trend for applications or information storage to be hosted as services on the Internet, according to Santana

Boards of directors for both companies have unanimously approved the take-over, which is still subject to approval from regulatory authorities.

The acquisition of one of the world’s largest anti-virus software companies underscores Intel’s bid to move into mobile phones, in-car navigation systems, televisions and medical devices as the traditional PC market nears saturation.

“There is an explosion of billions of devices on the Internet that need to be secured. The embedded market is very specific and a high opportunity market for us,” Intel’s head of software Renee James told journalists.

McAfee chief executive Dave DeWalt emphasized the huge potential for Internet security business as wireless devices become increasingly ubiquitous in day-to-day life.

“Cybercriminals and cyberterrorists are misusing the Internet’s open and any-to-any communication architecture for malicious purposes, leaving many users at risk and the future of the Internet as we know it in question,” he said in his blog following the acquisition announcement.

“We are joining forces to tackle this next generation cybersecurity issue, which impacts everyone and anything connecting to the Internet,” he wrote.

Carmi Levy, an independent technology analyst based in London, Ontario, explained that Intel will now integrate security software directly on its microchips.

“This is the beginning of a security-on-silicon age,” he said.