A new report suggests Intel has begun talking to bankers about the future of its security business and may be considering... Sign in for existing members By submitting your personal information, you agree that TechTarget and its partners may contact you regarding relevant content, products and special offers. You also agree that your personal information may be transferred and processed in the United States, and that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy. putting Intel Security up for sale. The Intel Security business is dominated by McAfee, the security software company Intel purchased in 2011 for $7.7 billion. Speculation about the Intel Security business sale comes after Intel announced a restructuring plan in April 2016 "to accelerate its evolution from a PC company to one that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected computing devices." Intel said the focus of the restructure would be on data centers and its internet of things businesses.

Intel's first-quarter results showed its security business had strong numbers, with revenue of $537 million -- an increase of 5% sequentially and 12% year over year. Experts speculated, with Intel's restructuring plan and the recent high-profile acquisitions in the security industry, Intel might be looking to capitalize on its security business now, because the value may not get any higher. "If it's true that Intel is looking to sell its security business, most likely, it's because they couldn't figure out how to grow that business. At the end of the day, they couldn't create the synergies they thought existed in the McAfee acquisition, and Intel struggled to grow its security business," said Paula Musich, research director for NSS Labs Inc., based in Austin, Texas. "Chris Young was brought in from Cisco Systems to try to shake things up, and he cut stagnant or slow-growing product lines, sold off the NGFW [next-generation firewall] business and emphasized the more competitive product families in its portfolio.

At the same time, there is a lot of money pouring into the cybersecurity market from private equity investors, and valuations are quite attractive."business for sale coffs Intel Security also surprised users late last year when it announced several of its software-as-a-service (SaaS) security products officially entered end of life and the company would stop selling its McAfee SaaS Endpoint Protection and McAfee Email Security Solutions product lines.handyman services nc When Intel purchased McAfee to create its Intel Security business, Intel announced the aim was to embed security into its hardware. handyman in decatur gaBut SearchSecurity learned from an expert with direct knowledge that Intel's dream of McAfee informing security design never came true. handyman north vancouver

The expert said McAfee was never successfully integrated into Intel because of a culture clash.what does a handyman charge per hour Reactions on Twitter were mixed, but the inimitable SwiftOnSecurity appeared to agree with this assessment:business for sale dekalb il Intel is considering selling McAfee 6 years after buying it. handyman service victoriaTheir continued use of McAfee branding is cancerous and shows arms-length mgmt. — SecuriTay (@SwiftOnSecurity) The report on Intel considering the sale of its security business also claimed a group of private equity firms may join together to buy the security business, if it is sold at the same price or higher than Intel paid. "I think the usual suspects on the private equity side include Thoma Bravo, Silver Lake Partners, Bain Capital, and now that Elliott Management is buying businesses instead of large blocks of shares, they may make a stronger play into the security market," Musich said.

"I think this is the most promising scenario -- private equity investors banding together to acquire the company." An Intel spokesperson said the company is declining to comment on the speculation. Subscribe to our newsletter We will not post anything without your consent By signing up, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Conditions of Use Send me financing information Edit your search namePricewaterhouseCoopers said on Wednesday it agreed to buy Booz & Co., ratcheting up an aggressive move by large audit firms back into the lucrative consulting business more than 10 years after U.S. regulators tried to tease apart the two sectors.UL, one of the world's Big Four audit firms, said it will buy corporate consultancy Booz for undisclosed terms. Subject to approval by Booz's partners, the transaction was the latest in a string of similar acquisitions.With audit revenues flattening in developed markets, the U.S.-based Big Four - also including Deloitte, KPMG and Ernst & Young - have been investing heavily in consulting, where business is growing after a recessionary slump.

With the exception of Deloitte, the trend marks a shift for the firms, which backed away from consulting around the time of the 2002 passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley law in the United States.Approved by Congress in answer to the Enron-era accounting scandals, Sarbanes-Oxley barred firms from doing consulting work for audit clients, with some exceptions such as tax advice. The law left audit firms free to sell consulting services of all kinds to companies that were not audit clients.PwC sold its consulting arm to IBM in 2002. In contrast, Deloitte did not follow suit - a decision that has since helped lift its revenues above those of arch-rival PwC. With consulting's growth beckoning and Enron receding in the rear-view mirror, PwC since 2009 has made big consulting acquisitions, including Paragon Consulting Group; the commercial services consulting arm of BearingPoint; and smaller consulting firms in digital, social media and environmental areas.Earlier this month, PwC said it planned to spend $1 billion growing operations worldwide in the next three years, including client offerings such as cyber-security and risk services.

UL has bought a slew of consulting firms, including energy consultants Altos Management Partners and AJM Petroleum Consultants; performance management advisory firm Jackson Browne; economic consultancy Access Economics; business analytics firm Oco; and sustainability specialists Clear Carbon Consulting and DOMANI Sustainability Consulting.KPMG KPMG.UL and Ernst & Young ERNY.UL have also made several consulting acquisitions in recent years.Booz is not related to Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH.N), the consulting firm best known for its work with the U.S. government and former employee turned secrets leaker, Edward Snowden. Booz & Co separated in 2008 from Booz Allen Hamilton. A spokeswoman for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which regulates audit firms, said the board does not need to approve the Booz transaction, "although we have an interest in it, partly because of the independence issues it raises."Audit firms' consulting services came under scrutiny in Europe after the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when the Big Four were criticized for not warning of problems at major banks.