McAfee files for US IPO

Cyber security firm McAfee has filed for a US initial public offering, as the company carved out of Intel four years ago looks to take advantage of a rebound in capital markets from a coronavirus-led slump in March.

McAfee did not disclose the size of the offering and set a placeholder amount of US$100 million. The firm is looking to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "MCFE", according to a filing.

The filing comes at the start of a blockbuster week for IPOs with the likes of Central Intelligence Agency-backed Palantir Technologies and workplace app Asana set for their market debuts.

Buyout firm TPG had acquired a majority stake in McAfee from Intel in 2016 in a deal which valued the company at $4.2 billion, including debt.

McAfee has managed to grow its main cyber security software business, which focuses on consumers, through price increases, new partner programs and good retention rates in the last few years, according credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service.

The growth has been partially offset, however, by weakness in its business of serving other companies, which remains competitive, according to Moody’s.

McAfee’s revenue jumped 9.4 per cent to $2.64 billion in the year ended December 2019, while net loss narrowed to $236 million from $512 million during the same period. The company hired the former CEO of BMC Software, Peter Leav, as its new chief executive, Reuters reported in January.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, TPG Capital BD, BofA Securities and Citigroup are the lead underwriters to the offering.

Reporting by Abhishek Manikandan in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel and Sriraj Kalluvila