McAfee seals $14B sale to private equity consortium

Peter Leav (McAfee)

Cyber security software vendor McAfee has confirmed its US$14 billion sale to a private equity consortium led by Advent International. 

The deal marks one of the largest cyber security acquisitions ever, surpassing Thoma Bravo’s US$12.3 billion acquisition of Proofpoint and Broadcom’s US$10.7 buy of Symantec’s enterprise business. 

As well as Advent, the consortium includes Permira Advisers, Crosspoint Capital Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, GIC Private Limited and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.  

The agreement sees the consortium pay US$26.00 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately US$12 billion on an equity value basis, and over US$14 billion on an enterprise value basis after giving effect to repayment of McAfee debt. 

Upon completion, the investor group will take ownership of the company, making it a private entity after just one year of being publicly traded. 

The deal follows the sale of McAfee’s Enterprise business to private equity firm Symphony Technology Group for US$4 billion, which closed on July 27, 2021. 

“This transaction is a testament to McAfee’s market-leading online protection solutions, our talented employees, and outstanding customers and partners,” said McAfee president and CEO Peter Leav.  

“We want to thank our employees for their continued hard work and commitment to McAfee. We are thrilled to be partnering with premier firms who truly understand the cyber security landscape and have a proven track record of success.” 

Earlier this year, the antivirus software vendor founder John McAfee was found dead in a Spanish jail at the age of 75 following a request for his extradition to the United States on charges related to tax evasion.