Cybersecurity software maker McAfee is planning to go public. It is in advanced talks with private equity firm Advent International for this, according to people privy with the development. Advent, one of the leading consortiums of investors. The list includes names like Canadian pension plan CPP Investment Authority, private equity firm Permira, Crosspoint Capital, and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. There are reports that the deal could be announced as soon as within a few days. The deal could value the antivirus software company at over USD 10 billion. However, there is no final agreement yet and therefore there are chances that talks could fall apart.
San Jose, California-based McAfee has not commented on the development immediately. It must be noted that McAfee has total debt of more than USD 4 billion. This is according to data compiled by a media house. The reports about the possible deal come at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has forced many companies to adopt work from home policy. Ironically, the number of cyber-attacks has also increased and this has resulted in an increase in the demand for antivirus and digital security software.
McAfee was founded in 1987 by cybersecurity entrepreneur John McAfee. Ever since it was formed, it has been a leading company in developing antivirus software for personal computers. In 1994, he left only to be found dead in a Spanish prison cell later in the year. He was found dead just hours after the National Court of Spain had approved his extradition to the United States. The extradition was approved because of the multiple tax fraud charges. Several years later, Intel Crop had acquired McAfee in 2010. Six years later, Intel announced that it had signed a deal to transfer a 51 percent stake in the company to the investment firm TPG. The deal between Intel and TPG was valued at USD 4.2 billion. This included debt. McAfee had returned to the public market in October 2020.
