Intel divests majority stake in McAfee

Intel is selling 51 percent of its stake in Intel Security. The investment company TPG takes over the interest, after which the security branch continues as an independent company under the name McAfee.

Intel sells its share in Intel Security for 3.1 billion dollars, or 2.75 billion euros. The company retains a 49 percent minority stake. Six years ago, Intel bought McAfee for $7.7 billion. In 2014, the chip giant changed the name of its security arm from McAfee to Intel Security.

Intel saw growth opportunities in 2010 to combine McAfee’s security technology with its hardware expertise, but the Santa Clara company struggled to reap sufficient benefits from the combination and integrate Intel Security into its organization. Intel’s sales and profits have been under pressure in recent years due to the shrinking PC market, which has led to reorganizations and the shedding of thousands of jobs. Intel’s strategy now focuses on data center and smart device technology.

The Intel Security Group achieved revenue of $1.1 billion in the first half of 2016, up 11 percent from the same period a year earlier. McAfee was founded in 1987 by John McAfee. The founder is in a legal battle with Intel, demanding the right to change the name of his investment firm MGT Capital Investments to John McAfee Global Technologies.