Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    Intel Security Business Drawing Private Equity Interest

    By
    Jeff Burt
    -
    July 14, 2016
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Intel security

      Private equity firms reportedly are looking into Intel’s security business amid rumors that the chip maker is considering selling off the unit.

      According to a report by Bloomberg, such firms as Thoma Bravo, Permira and Vista Equity Partners are among those doing research in case Intel decides to sell the security business, which is primarily based on the company’s $7.7 billion acquisition of antivirus vendor McAfee.

      The interest comes about two weeks after reports began surfacing, indicating that Intel officials had been meeting with bankers to discuss the future of its cyber-security unit, although unnamed sources in Bloomberg’s report said that no decision had been made about the business and that, in the end, Intel may decide to keep the group.

      It also comes as Intel continues plans for its Focus Security Conference in Las Vegas in November, and as Intel Security officials announce the expansion of its Security Innovation Alliance by adding 24 new technology partners and adding to its portfolio of security offerings.

      Spokespeople for Intel and the private equity firms have not commented on the reports.

      When Intel bought McAfee, company officials talked about integrating McAfee security technologies into Intel processors for a broad array of systems, from PCs to connected devices. Putting security technology directly into the chips would better protect the systems from the growing range of cyber-threats, they said.

      However, Intel is undergoing a transition that includes shifting its focus away from PCs and to such areas as the cloud, connected devices and 5G connectivity. The global PC market has seen sharp shipment declines since late 2011, and PC and component makers like Intel has been looking to reduce its dependence on the PC space, which currently still accounts for about 60 percent of Intel revenues. Intel also has scaled back its ambitions in a mobile device space dominated by ARM and such partners as Qualcomm and Samsung, and instead is moving aggressively into other areas.

      When reports that Intel was considering the sale of the security unit (renamed Intel Security in 2014) first arose in late June, Roger Kay, principal analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates, noted that the nature of cyber-security and the response to threats had changed since Intel bought McAfee. In particular, security software vendors are addressing such sophisticated attacks like phishing and spear-phishing with technologies that go beyond antivirus, which calls for a “different set of skill sets than McAfee originally brought with it.”

      Kay said the security business could be a drag on Intel financials, although in the first quarter, the unit generated revenue of $537 million, a 12 percent gain from the same period in 2015. However, even if the company sheds the McAfee unit, Intel will “need a security story of some sort, and that wasn’t it,” Kay told eWEEK. “But they’ll need a security story.”

      A sale of the security unit would add to the upheaval at the company caused by the restructuring under CEO Brian Krzanich. That has included the hiring in November 2015 of longtime Qualcomm executive Venkata “Murthy” Renduchintala as president of the newly formed Client and Internet of Things Businesses and Systems Architecture Group, which has led to a number of longtime executives leaving Intel. In addition, Intel has announced it will cut 12,000 jobs—or about 11 percent of the worldwide workforce—by the middle of next year.

      Avatar
      Jeff Burt
      Jeffrey Burt has been with eWEEK since 2000, covering an array of areas that includes servers, networking, PCs, processors, converged infrastructure, unified communications and the Internet of things.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×