“Intel wants to sell McAfee

Investor and venture capitalist Thoma Bravo has started discussions to acquire security company McAfee from TPG Capital and Intel. The talks have only just begun, but it seems that Thoma Bravo’s bid is already much higher than the company’s current value.

That’s what news agency Reuters reports on the basis of sources within the company. The talks are at an early stage and there is no guarantee whatsoever that a deal will actually be reached. None of the companies concerned wished to respond to a request for information from Reuters.

Acquisition of McAfee

Intel took over McAfee in 2011 and paid $7.7 billion for it. Last year it sold a 51 percent stake in McAfee to TPG, which was then valued at $4.2 billion. It is said that Thoma Bravo wants to pay more than the current value of the company. Thoma Bravo already has a minority stake in McAfee, through a partnership with TPG.

However, Thoma Bravo is in the process of consolidating its position in the cybersecurity market. In October, the Imperva took over for $2.1 billion. In addition, it took over a cyber security company last month. It was about Veracode, which took over from Broadcom for $950 million. In addition, it seems that Thoma Bravo made an offer for Symantec last month.

McAfee struggles

Founded in 1987 by John McAfee, McAfee developed security software for computers and servers. Recently, it has expanded to the cloud and to mobile devices, two areas where hackers are also increasingly active.

When Intel acquired McAfee, it hoped to combine its chips with McAfee’s software. The acquisition did not lead to the desired results for Intel, which decided to sell a majority shareholding in 2016. TPG has changed the company in the past two years, for example by taking over other companies. These include Skyhigh Networks, which helps manage and secure cloud services, as well as Tunnelbear, which provides VPNs to protect data.