TPG to buy majority stake in Intel cyber security spin-off

TPG, the private equity firm, is buying a majority stake in Intel Security, the division formerly known as McAfee, at almost half the price it was valued at when the chipmaker bought it for six years ago.

Intel Security will be spun out at a valuation of $4.2bn, down from $7.7bn in 2010, in the deal which will see TPG take a 51 per cent stake and Intel retain the remaining 49 per cent. The new jointly owned security company will be called once again McAfee. TPG is investing $1.1bn in the new standalone company, while Intel will receive $3.1bn in cash, writes Hannah Kuchler.

Jim Coulter, co-founder and co-chief executive of TPG, said McAfee will be able to sharpen its focus as an independent company and better able to respond to the “rapidly-evolving” cyber security sector. But Brian Krzanich, chief executive of Intel, said the chipmaker would continue to work closely with the new standalone McAfee and prioritise security.

The Financial Times was the first to report that Intel was weighing the sale of its cyber security business back in June.

Intel bought McAfee, the anti-virus maker, for $7.7bn in 2010, hoping to integrate its security products onto the chip. But the company has failed to complete this plan after six years.