September 7, 2016
Intel said it would spin out its cyber security division, formerly known as McAfee, and sell a majority stake in it to investment firm TPG for $3.1 billion in cash.
TPG will own 51 percent of the new entity, valuing the entire company at $4.2 billion including debt.
Intel, which bought McAfee for $7.7 billion in 2011, will retain a 49 percent stake in the business.
The deal ends a failed effort by Intel to stake out a major position in the computer security business. At the time of the acquisition, Intel spoke of integrating McAfee security technology into its chips, but little came of those plans.
Intel executives at the time also said they hoped the acquisition would give it a piece of the emerging business of protecting corporations from sophisticated espionage, but newer players such as Mandiant, now a unit of FireEye, came to dominate that business.
At the same time, PC growth slowed, eroding the traditional McAfee customer base’s potential.
The unit, rebranded as Intel Security Group in 2014, will revert to the McAfee brand name following the closing of the deal, expected in the second quarter of 2017.