San Jose (CA) - Security software firm McAfee today announced plans to acquire Secure Computing in a transaction valued at $465 million. The merger will create a giant network security vendor with product portfolio that spans virtually any segment of the security software market.

McAfee said it agreed to buy Secure Computing Corporation in a pending stock purchase valued at $5.75 per common share in cash, without interest, translating into a total transaction value of $413 million, in addition to $84 million in preferred stock redeemed for cash. The aggregated net value of the transaction is approximately $465 million. The acquisition has to be approved by the regulatory bodies and Secure's stockholders. The transaction is expected to close at the end of the fourth quarter.

"We expect the pending combination of McAfee and Secure Computing will create an annual projected combined revenue of just under $500 million in the network security segment of our SRM portfolio," said Dave DeWalt, chief executive officer and president of McAfee. "We believe that this pending acquisition will allow us to immediately establish a leading and highly competitive position in the network security space."

Secure Computing brings 22,000 customers in 106 countries to the table and McAfee hopes that Secure's TrustedSource technology will extend its own cloud-based security solutions down the road. Secure's product portfolio is focused at protecting web, email and network assets for businesses of all sizes and will now augment McAfee's own offering, creating one of the most comprehensive and diverse security solutions on the market.

Upon completion of the transaction, Secure's Computing technologies will become a part of McAfee's Network Security unit led by Dan Ryan, president and chief executive officer of Secure Computing.