McAfee went private on March 1, 2022, after an investor group led by Advent International and Permira completed its acquisition. The November 2021 offer was $26 per share in cash; the often-cited figure of more than $14 billion was the deal’s enterprise value after giving effect to repayment of McAfee debt, not the cash paid to shareholders.
Who bought McAfee?
The buyer was an investor group led by private-equity firms Advent International and Permira. The group also included Crosspoint Capital, CPP Investments, GIC, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). McAfee announced the definitive agreement on November 8, 2021. McAfee’s SEC-filed announcement named the participants.
How much was McAfee sold for?
The agreement offered McAfee shareholders $26.00 in cash for each share. McAfee described the transaction as having approximately $12 billion in equity value and more than $14 billion in enterprise value after giving effect to repayment of McAfee debt. Those amounts describe different measures of the deal, not two estimates of the same shareholder payout. McAfee’s announcement stated the per-share offer and valuation figures.
Why is it called a $14 billion deal?
Enterprise value accounts for the value of the business in a way that reflects debt, while equity value is the value attributable to shareholders. In this case, the announcement’s “over $14 billion” figure was enterprise value after giving effect to McAfee debt repayment; the approximately $12 billion figure was equity value. It would be misleading to describe the $14 billion as the amount shareholders received.
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What premium did shareholders receive?
McAfee said the $26 offer represented an approximately 22.6% premium to its November 4, 2021 closing share price of $21.21. November 4 was the last trading day before media reports of a possible sale, according to the company’s announcement.
When did McAfee go private?
The acquisition closed on March 1, 2022. McAfee said at closing that it was no longer publicly traded. Before closing, the company’s employee FAQ had said the deal was expected to close by the end of the second quarter of 2022, subject to approvals and customary conditions; that was an expectation, not the actual closing date. McAfee’s closing announcement confirms the completed transaction, and its employee FAQ gives the earlier expected timetable.
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Which McAfee business was acquired?
The deal concerned McAfee’s consumer-focused business after the company had sold certain Enterprise business assets to Symphony Technology Group. That separate sale closed July 27, 2021, for $4.0 billion in cash before tax; the sale announcement also noted a one-time $4.50-per-share dividend. McAfee’s Enterprise sale announcement describes that transaction.
McAfee characterized the business remaining after the divestiture as a “pure-play consumer cybersecurity leader.” That was the company’s strategic framing, not an independent industry ranking. At the March 2022 closing, CEO Peter Leav said the company was excited to work with the investor group to strengthen its growth position and continue delivering online protection services. His statement expressed management’s view at closing; it does not establish what results the deal later produced.
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What financing did the deal documents disclose?
McAfee’s merger proxy disclosed committed financing for the transaction. The figures below are commitments described in the proxy, not evidence that every facility was drawn in the same amount at closing. The SEC-filed merger proxy describes the facilities and preferred equity.
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| Commitment described in the proxy | Amount |
|---|---|
| First-lien term loan facility | $6.66 billion |
| First-lien cash-flow revolving facility | $1 billion |
| Senior unsecured bridge facility | $2.32 billion |
| Preferred equity | Up to $800 million |
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