US Federal Trade Commission Clears Intel Purchase Of McAfee
December 21 2010 - 1:32PM
Dow Jones News
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission cleared Intel Corp.'s (INTC)
proposed acquisition of security-software company McAfee Inc.
(MFE), helping pave the way for the $7.68 billion deal to close
next year.
The chip maker said on its website it is continuing to work with
the European Commission on its review. The Wall Street Journal
reported last week that the acquisition is running into close
scrutiny by European officials that could at least delay the
transaction.
In mid-October, the company said the transaction could close as
early as the end of 2010 or in the first quarter of 2011, but the
company recently has said it expects the deal to close sometime in
the first half of next year.
A representative from Intel declined to comment.
The FTC's approval was expected, Baird analyst Tristan Gerra
said.
"There were a lot of question marks when the deal was announced
as to why Intel was doing that, and people were struggling to
understand the fit," he said. "But Intel has addressed most of the
questions."
Intel in August said it would be buying McAfee to help it expand
beyond providing chips for personal computers. The company also
said the acquisition would allow it to build security into computer
chips and other hardware, making products more resistant to
attack.
While Intel is confident the deal will be approved, the European
Union's antitrust regulator has privately expressed concerns during
its preliminary review of the deal, which could prompt the
regulator to submit the deal to a lengthy examination, people
familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
A key focus of the European review, the people said, is Intel's
stated desire to incorporate security features into its widely used
microprocessor chips. The EU appears concerned that if McAfee, by
virtue of being owned by Intel, had privileged access to those
features, it could be difficult for McAfee's rivals to compete,
they added.
-By Shara Tibken, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2189;
shara.tibken@dowjones.com
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