Intel to spin off cybersecurity unit McAfee

US tech giant Intel announced plans Wednesday to spin off its cybersecurity operations as an independent company under the name McAfee.

The move comes six years after Intel announced the acquisition of McAfee, one of the leading antivirus software companies at the time.

An Intel statement said the spinoff would be made with the investment group TPG, which would own 51 percent of McAfee, leaving Intel with 49 percent and valuing the group at $4.2 billion.

Intel chief Brian Krzanich said in a statement that "security remains important in everything we do at Intel and going forward we will continue to integrate industry-leading security and privacy capabilities in our products from the cloud to billions of smart, connected computing devices."

The new group will be one of the world's largest pure-play cybersecurity companies, and frees Intel to focus on new priorities such as wearables and other connected devices.