Network security maven McAfee Associates Inc has decided the best way to get ahead of its arch rival Symantec Corp is to get bigger, quickly, and yesterday announced it would buy network management company Network General Co in an agreed share swap valuing the combined company at $1.3bn. Taking time out from its relentless war of words and courtroom battle with Symantec over rights to source code, McAfee said the new company will trade as Network Associates Inc and is to exchange 0.4167 of its shares for every Network General share. McAfee chairman, CEO and president Bill Larson becomes chairman and CEO of the new company. Network General president and CEO Leslie Denend is to be president. Although it has consistently outperformed the market’s predictions for the past three years with compound revenue growth of 116%, anti-virus phenomenon McAfee warned recently that competitive pressures will make it difficult for the company to maintain its growth rate (CI No 3,228). The companies claim Network Associates will be the world’s tenth largest ISV and the biggest network and security management company.
