McAfee splashes $86m on Foundstone

Antivirus giant McAfee has announced it is to buy vulnerability management firm Foundstone in a $86m, all-cash deal.

Following a major rebranding and a bullish denial that it is an acquisition target for Microsoft, the move represents the continuation of McAfee's 'going it alone' stance and a strengthening of its offering.

George Samenuk, chairman and CEO of McAfee, said in a statement: "By combining Foundstone with McAfee's intrusion prevention technology, we will offer proven solutions that deliver the best return on security investment available in managing business risk from attacks."

He added: "Chief information security officers need a comprehensive view of where their risks are and business executives need to understand how those risks can translate into business impact. Foundstone enables both."

Shares in McAfee were up 2.4 per cent at $17.91.

Privately held Foundstone was set up in 1999. Among its 400 large enterprise customers it counts AT&T and Motorola.