Intel has agreed to acquire McAfee Inc. for approximately $7.68 billion ($48 per share in cash), the company announced today. The boards of directors of both companies have approved the deal, which is expected to close following shareholder approval and regulatory clearances.

It's a huge deal for Intel, primarily a hardware company, to acquire a security-oriented software company, especially one as big as McAfee. However, Intel believes that security has become an integral part of computing, which makes it their business, too.

“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. 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," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO.

The fact that McAfee has experienced fantastic growth in recent quarters probably spurred Intel to go through with the deal, too. Be it hardware-enhanced security or pure software security products, there's no doubt about it: Intel is now one of the market leaders.

McAfee will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary, and it will be reporting to Intel’s Software and Services Group.