McAfee Says Stockholders Rejecting Network Associates Buyback Offer

McAfee, meanwhile, called on Network Associates to end its off-again, on-again attempt to reacquire the company.

"With approximately 4 percent of shares tendered, our stockholders agree with our board of directors _ the Network Associates offer was financially inadequate and substantially undervalued both our current business and our future potential," said Srivats Sampath, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based McAfee's chief executive.

McAfee makes virus-protection software.

The original offer for exchanging stock was set to expire midnight Tuesday, but Network Associates extended the deadline to midnight, Aug. 13.

Network Associates is offering .90 share of its stock for each of the 12 million McAfee shares it does not own. Network Associates, which spun off McAfee in 1999, still owns 75 percent of McAfee.

Earlier this year, another offer to reacquire the company was dropped after an accounting problem at Network Associates forced it to restate its financial reports for 1998 and 2000.

Shares of Santa Clara, Calif.-based Network Associates closed off 3 cents, at $12.15, Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. McAfee shares declined 70 cents to $13.09, on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

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