- The transaction is valued at over $14 billion
- Investor Group comprised of Advent, Permira, Crosspoint Capital, CPP Investments, GIC and ADIA
SAN JOSE, Calif. – March 1, 2022 – McAfee Corp. (NASDAQ:MCFE, “McAfee”), a global leader in online protection, today announced the completion of its acquisition by an investor group led by Advent International Corporation (“Advent”) and funds advised by Permira, Crosspoint Capital Partners L.P. (“Crosspoint”), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPP Investments”), GIC Private Limited (“GIC”), and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (“ADIA”) (collectively, “the Investor Group”).
"We are very excited about this acquisition and working with the Investor Group to further strengthen our market leading growth position as we continue to deliver world-class online protection services to millions of consumers globally,” said McAfee President and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Leav. “This acquisition is made possible because of the outstanding contributions from our employees, as well as the partnership from TPG and Intel over the last four years. We are looking forward to our next chapter as a privately held, dedicated consumer business with the support and expertise of the Investor Group,” said Leav.
As part of the transaction, Bruce Chizen, Senior Advisor at Permira, will become Chairman of McAfee’s Board of Directors.
Chizen said: “The need for personalized, innovative, and intuitive online protection services has never been greater, and McAfee is ideally positioned to meet this demand and continue to build its leading technology platform and loyal customer base. I am grateful to be joining the Board and look forward to contributing to the company’s undoubtable next stage of success.”
“As consumers navigate the increasingly sophisticated and complex cybersecurity landscape, they turn to McAfee time and again,” said Bryan Taylor, Head of Advent’s Technology Investment Team and a Managing Partner in Palo Alto. “The McAfee brand is synonymous with trust and protection. We’re excited to help build on the
company’s reputation for quality, excellence, and innovation to help it reach new heights.”
Brian Ruder, Co-Head of Technology at Permira, commented: “Today marks the start of an exciting chapter for McAfee, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it. As a Board member, Bruce brings decades of experience leading and growing global technology brands, including as CEO of Adobe and as a Board member of Oracle and Synopsys, among others. Together with our investment partners and McAfee’s talented team, we’ll help the company scale and strengthen its operations, further improving the security of consumers' digital lives worldwide.”
Also joining McAfee’s Board of Directors is Greg Clark, Managing Partner at Crosspoint Capital and former CEO of Symantec. “We believe the opportunity is great for McAfee to expand its pole position in protecting citizens from cybercrime. We look forward to partnering with the McAfee management team and the Investor Group to deliver on what we believe is a truly unique opportunity in digital cyber safety.”
On November 8, 2021, the Investor Group announced the acquisition of all outstanding shares of McAfee common stock for $26.00 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at over $14 billion. As a result of the transaction, McAfee is no longer a publicly traded company. McAfee has notified NASDAQ of the completion of the acquisition and requested that NASDAQ file a notification of delisting with the Securities and Exchange Commission on McAfee’s behalf.
Advisors
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are serving as financial advisors to McAfee and Ropes & Gray and Moulton Moore Stella are serving as legal counsel. JP Morgan Securities LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Evercore and DBO Partners LLC are serving as financial advisors, with Bryant Stibel Group serving as strategic operating advisors to the Investor Group. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson are acting as M&A legal counsel and Kirkland & Ellis are acting as Finance legal counsel to the Investor Group.
The debt financing for the transaction was originally provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Bank of America, N.A., BofA Securities, Inc., Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, Credit Suisse Loan Funding LLC, Barclays Bank PLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., HSBC Bank USA, National Association, Royal Bank of Canada, RBC Capital Markets LLC, CPPIB Credit Investments Inc., UBS AG, Stamford Branch, UBS Securities LLC and PSP Investments Credit II USA LLC, and additional financial institutions were added prior to syndication.
