Intel Corp. agreed to pay $7.68 billion to acquire computersecurity softer maker McAfee Inc., aiming to boost the chip giant's own online and wireless-computing efforts. Intel will pay $48 for each share of McAfee, a 60% premium. The stock last traded at that level in 1999.

In announcing the deal, the chip maker said current security doesn't fully address mo- bile, television, ATMs and other Internet-connected devices. McAfee will become part of Intel's software and services division. “With the rapid expansion of growth across a vast array of Internet-connected devices, more and more of the elements of our lives have moved online,“ said Intel President and Chief Executive Paul Otellini. “In the past, energy-efficient performance and connectivity have defined computing requirements. Looking forward, security will join those as a third pillar of what people demand from all computing experiences.“

McAfee, best known for its widely popular antivirus soft- ware, has recently said it was marshaling more strength to go after the quickly developing mobile market, and it recently announced it was acquiring mobile-device security company ten Cube, a move that follows its purchase of Trust Digital, another mobile-security- software firm.

Meanwhile, technology companies have been putting some of their bulging cash piles to work lately through acquisitions, suggesting they are taking advantage of low valuations to build their product and service offerings. On Mon- day, Intel said it would buy Texas Instruments Inc.'s cable-modem product line for an undisclosed amount.

The deals come as Intel last month reported its best-ever quarterly results amid an on- going rebound in the semiconductor space. For its part, McAfee's second-quarter earnings rose 38%, allaying concerns about its business after a weak first quarter. The company said sales grew sharply in North America, one of its key markets.

Intel expects the McAfee deal to slightly cut into earnings the first year after closing because of merger-related charges and have little impact on the bottom line in the second year New York-based private equity firm Blackstone Group Lp will invest $300 million (`1,398 crore) for a significant minority stake in unlisted Indian power developer Moser Baer Project Pvt. Ltd. The investment is Black- stone's second power sector deal in India.

“We are actively in dialogue with other power players (for picking up a stake),“ Black- stone India chief Akhil Gupta told reporters, adding that the equity firm had an “appetite“ to invest up to $1 billion in India's power sector in the next threefive years.

Blackstone has already in- vested $1.25 billion in Indian projects, with a majority of the funds committed to infrastructure and logistics. Its previous deal in the power sector was with Monnet Power Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Monnet Ispat and Energy Ltd, which owns a coal-, fired plant in Orissa. “Infrastructure development continues to remain one of our key investment themes in India. We have been studying the Indian power sector for over a year and are excited to partner with Moser Baer.

Moser Baer Projects has three coal-fired projects of 1,000- 1300MW capacity, 10 solar projects and two hydro- power projects in the pipeline.It has one operational solar energy plant in Germany. Among its thermal projects, one is under construction and two are awaiting clearances. Moser Baer Projects' chief financial officer Sushil Bhagat said the company will be pre- pared to go public in another five years. “Unlike our competitors we must demonstrate our capabilities to execute our projects.

We will be going public by 2015 calendar year, by which stage we will have 1,500MW in operation, and another 3,500MW under construction, while 5,000-6000MW in the pipeline.“ The power sector is typically considered a hard sector to invest in by foreign utility firms, but Bhagat disagrees.

“I can't speak for others, but energy is an interesting area.My professional experience tells me that the risk-return profile of power is very attractive because there is a huge power deficit in the country and, therefore, there is a market,“ he said.

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