McAfee acquires another security software company

McAfee will acquire the Texan vendor Citadel Security Software for approximately 60 million US$. Citadel specialise in applications that help companies to assess and handle security risks arising from the usage of various software products.

"For us, security risk management is one of the most attractive growth segments. The acquisition of Citadel Security Software will enable us to offer suitable components to our customers to address regulatory compliance requirements, such as Sarbanes-Oxley", explains Kevin Weiss, president of McAfee.

Although McAfee benefits from distinct growth rates in their core segment, i.e., antivirus software, the company is experiencing competitive pressures. With their security package, Windows live OneCare, newcomer Microsoft has achieved remarkable sales success at first go, although faced with increasing protests within the industry. McAfee is thus forced to expand into new market segments, mainly by acquiring other vendors.

In June MacAfee acquired Preventsys, a company that develops similar applications to those provided by Citadel. According to Gartner, McAfee, with their 12-percent market share, has meanwhile become the solid number 2 in the overall security software market.

(trk)