Cybersecurity Firm McAfee Prepares for a Possible IPO

McAfee has hired underwriters to pursue an initial public offering this year that its owners hope could value the cybersecurity company at at least $8 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

McAfee, partly owned by Intel, is working with Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, as well as a full banking syndicate for an IPO, which could take place this fall, said one of the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter is private.

A final decision on a listing hasn’t been made and the company’s plans could change, the people said. The company’s owners include the private equity firms TPG and Thoma Bravo.

Representatives for McAfee, Intel, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and TPG declined to comment. A representative for Thoma Bravo didn’t respond to requests for comment.

An IPO would complete a round trip for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company started by John McAfee in 1989. Intel, seeking to build security features directly into its chips, bought the company for $7.7 billion in 2010, with TPG and Thoma Bravo taking stakes later.

In 2016, John sued Intel over for the right to use his name in a new business venture. They settled the case the following year.

This year, cybersecurity companies have fared well in U.S. IPOs.

Crowdstrike Holdings has risen about 150% since going public in June while Tufin Software Technologies has climbed about 25% since listing in April.

Zscaler, the cloud-based internet security platform that raised $192 million in its IPO last year, is trading up 344% from its offer price.