McAfee to acquire Secure Computing

McAfee Inc plans to buy Secure Computing Corp for $465 million, adding
specialized equipment that keeps hackers from breaking into computer networks.

The move, McAfee's biggest acquisition to date, helps the number two computer
security company expand the bundle of products it can sell to businesses. The
deal also boosts the number of companies that use its products.

The Santa Clara, California-based company said it would pay $5.75 per share
of Secure Computing's common stock, representing a 27 percent premium to the San
Jose, California, company's closing price of $4.52 on Friday.

Dave DeWalt, Chief Executive, McAfee said the purchase would help round out
McAfee's line of products that help protect business networks. The company is
best known for anti-virus software for PCs.

Since he joined McAfee in early 2007, DeWalt has used acquisitions to beef up
its network security products.

So far McAfee only has "a few thousand" network security customers. The
Secure Computing purchase will add 22,000 more customers in that area, he said.

"The market is moving toward bigger vendors with broader suites. That just
means more dollars for McAfee," DeWalt said. "That is why we are expanding the
portfolio."

Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. analyst Daniel Ives said that the deal makes
sense for Secure Computing, which began as a unit of Honeywell in 1984 and
developed technology to protect computer systems at the U.S. National Security
Agency. It was spun off as an independent company in 1989.

The company had struggled over the past year as it replaced its chief
executive and its stock languished, losing more than half its value in 2008,
versus a 14 percent decline in the Nasdaq Composite Index.

Ives called the McAfee deal "a better choice (for Secure Computer) than
continuing to embark down a bumpy road in a tough macro environment."

The companies expect the transaction to close at the end of the fourth
quarter of this year.

DeWalt said the acquisition will either have no impact on McAfee's 2009
profit or slightly boost profit for the year.



Source: CIOL