Network Associates has relaunched its bid to acquire the publicly held shares of McAfee.com it does not already own. The decision to try to buy the shares was taken after Network Associates filed its restated financial results for the years 1998-2000 with the SEC.
Network Associates already owns a 75% stake in McAfee. The company has bid 0.78 shares for every McAfee share in an offer filed with the SEC on July 2. The offer is conditional on Network Associates owning at least 90% of McAfee’s Class A shares after completion.
Network Associates bid $224 million for the remaining 25% of McAfee’s shares in April. The company abandoned its previous plans to acquire the shares following the discovery of a number of accounting errors in its financial results.
Network Associates wants to make McAfee its wholly owned subsidiary in order to avoid current market confusion over its product offerings. The company spun off McAfee in 1999 but retained the McAfee name for some of its divisions and products, which has lead to confusion among stakeholders.
