SAN FRANCISCO - Talk about a new meaning for "Intel Inside."
Intel Corp. wants to be inside your television. And your cell phone. And your car. And pretty much any other device that could one day connect to the Internet and require a computer chip.
And with its deal to buy McAfee Inc. for $7.68 billion, the world's No. 1 semiconductor company now wants to sell you security software as well -- in all those places.
The all-cash deal announced Thursday marks the biggest acquisition in Intel's 42-year history, an expensive example of Intel's commitment to sell more than chips for personal computers and servers. It is the sixth biggest deal globally between two technology companies over the past 3 1/2 years, according to Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's.
But the deal is also a reminder of Intel's inconsistency in finding new ways to grow. The company is an infrequent acquirer with a history of dabbling in, and retreating from, markets outside its core business. It once even had a toy division that made microscopes and other gadgets -- a project Intel eventually gave up because of poor sales.
Once the deal closes, as expected, McAfee would help Intel improve the security of its chips, which are now inside about 80 percent of the world's PCs and servers. It also would open a new revenue stream for Intel, which plans to sell McAfee's software alongside its chips for PCs and other Internet-connected devices.
Joint products from the companies won't appear until next year. When they do, the most noticeable result for consumers would likely be sales pitches for security software in unexpected places.
"Everywhere we sell a microprocessor, there's an opportunity for a security software sale to go with it," Intel CEO Paul Otellini said on a conference call with analysts. "It's not just the opportunity to co-sell, it's the opportunity to deeply integrate these into the architecture of our products."
