Intel Security spun out, reverts to McAfee brand

Intel has followed through on its plan to rid itself of Intel Security, which is to revert back to its McAfee brand in a deal with private equity outfit TPG Capital.

Founded by the notorious John McAfee, who is to be the subject of an upcoming biopic focusing on his flight from Belize under suspicion of the murder of his neighbour and subsequent deportation back to the US to front various security-related hardware projects and make a bid for the US Presidency, McAfee was acquired by Intel back in 2010 in a deal valued at $7.69 billion. Whatever Intel's plans for the company had been, though, they didn't pan out: Six years later, Intel began looking for an exit, and now it has one in the form of a deal with TPG Capital.

Under the terms of the deal, the business division formerly known as Intel Security will become an independent entity once again and revert to its former McAfee branding - though John McAfee remains entirely disconnected from the company, having sold his entire stake some considerable time ago. The reborn McAfee will be, at least initially, jointly owned by Intel and TPG Capital with the former taking the minority 49 percent share and the latter a controlling 51 percent. Neo McAfee is to be run by Christopher Young, the company has confirmed.

'Cybersecurity is the greatest challenge of the connected age, weighing heavily on the minds of parents, executives and world leaders alike,' claimed Young in his first official statement as chief executive of the new company. 'As a standalone company with a clear purpose, McAfee gains the agility to unite people, technology and organisations against our common adversaries and ensure our technology-driven future is safe.'

'We offer Chris Young and the McAfee team our full support as they establish themselves as one of the largest pure-play cybersecurity companies in the industry,' added Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich. 'Security remains important to Intel, and in addition to our equity position and ongoing collaboration with McAfee, Intel will continue to integrate industry-leading security and privacy capabilities in our products from the cloud to billions of smart, connected computing devices.'

The reborn McAfee is valued at $4.2 billion, representing a considerable loss for Intel over the six-years-and-change it has been at the helm of the company.