Andre Yoskowitz
20 Dec 2010 2:17
EU officials have raised concern over Intel's $7.68 billion bid for security software firm McAfee, which could in turn lead to a delay in closing the transaction.
Anti-trust regulators in the European Union have expressed preliminary concerns, says the WSJ, which may lead to an extended examination into the proposed deal.
Of focus is "Intel's stated desire to incorporate security features into its widely used microprocessor chips."
EU regulators say that fact may give McAfee an unfair advantage over other security rivals, like Norton.
Intel is the clear leader in the microprocessor market.
So far, the EU has only sent out preliminary questionnaires to other security-software firms asking if Intel could "embed security functions into its chips and whether any of them could be reserved to work only with McAfee software."