McAfee to capture Citadel Security

McAfee announced on Tuesday a $60 million deal to acquire Citadel Security Software, as the former seeks to expand its efforts in the regulatory-compliance market.

The transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, calls for security company McAfee to pay $56 million in cash, in addition to $4 million in working capital.

With its Citadel acquisition, McAfee aims to bolster its regulatory compliance, remediation and vulnerability assessment suite--a goal it has been working toward with acquisitions of companies such as Preventsys.

Citadel develops software designed to automate the process of complying with regulatory requirements such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. The company's products range from patch management to security policy to vulnerability remediation technologies.

McAfee said it is particularly interested in targeting government agencies and health care companies with its Citadel acquisition, given that those industries are highly regulated.