Intel Pays $7.68 Billion For McAfee
The most surprising deal in the security market since Symantec's $13.5 billion acquisition of Veritas in 2005 has many industry analysts scratching their heads in bemusement. They're having a hard time finding the synergies here, and when you look at the 60 percent premium Intel paid for McAfee, it's tough to blame them. Seriously, is there something in the water over there?
Security industry analyst Richard Stiennon noted that the $7.68 billion deal is the largest to date involving a security pure-play. However, he also described it as "the worst" given that Intel could have achieved the same goals by purchasing a smaller, cheaper security firm.
"There is no synergy, no channel benefits, marginal revenue enhancement (considering the price), no new markets, and no meaningful strategy," Stiennon said in his blog post.
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