14 DAY TRIAL // It appears that one of the more troublesome acquisition of the past few years has finally been completed, that being Intel's buying of the very well known security software developer McAfee.
When a company decided to try and acquire a stake or complete ownership of another, the procedures are usually fairly standard and just formalities.
However, when it comes to extremely large corporations, legal authorities sometimes put a great effort into studying all terms of the agreements, maybe even setting conditions before approving the transaction.
It is this sort of situation that arose when Santa Clara, California-based Intel announced its intention to acquire McAfee, one of, if not the biggest security technology company in the world.
In fact, the EU only approved the deal near the end of January, 2011, even though the original buyout plans were made back in August, 2010.
Even a condition was set, that being that Intel had to agree to continue to support all other security software instead of building McAfee security technology into its chips and causing a sort of monopoly.
Now, after months of deliberations, the final signatures have been scribbled and McAfee is, officially, part of Intel.
"In the past, energy-efficient performance and Internet connectivity have defined computing requirements," said Renee James, manager of Intel's Software and Services Group.
"Intel has added security as a third pillar of what people demand from their experiences with personal computers and other connected devices. Security challenges put the future potential of computing at risk.”
“The acquisition of McAfee adds not only world-leading security products and technologies to Intel's computing portfolio, but also brings incredibly talented people focused on delivering products and services that help make connecting to the mobile Internet safer and more secure."
McAfee will continue to be led by Dave DeWalt, who will be reporting to James from now on.