Intel snaps up McAfee for $7.7 billion

Was feeling a bit insecure

Chip maker Intel said it was prepared to open up its bulging coffers and lash out some  $7.68 billion (£4.9 billion) on insecurity outfit McAfee.

The firm said it would fork out $48 per share in cash to acquire the anti-virus outfit and hopes shareholders will cash in on the offer.

According to Intel, "security is now a fundamental component of online computing".

In a statement, Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO said: “In the past, energy-efficiency performance and connectivity have defined computing requirements. Looking forward, security will join those as a third pillar of what people demand from all computing experiences."

He reckons the addition of McAfee to the Intel computing portfolio brings "products and services that the industry and consumers trust to make connecting to the Internet safer and more secure.”

McAfee was founded in 1987 and is the world’s largest dedicated security technology company with approximately $2 billion in revenue in 2009. It employs approximately 6,100 employees, about the fate of whom Intel murmured nary a word, which we take to mean many face the axe.