When Intel announced in August it would buy McAfee, the second-largest security software developer, for $7.68 billion, opinions were decidedly mixed. Some observers saw the deal -- Intel's largest in its 42-year history -- as holding potential to "bake" security into Intel's chips, an especially important notion as the number of mobile devices has exploded.

Yet the biggest tech acquisition of the year seemed to make the least sense to many, and was derided from many fronts. A chorus of voices pointed out the major differences in customers, development cycles and market opportunities between buyer and target. It was also pointed out that the $48 per share offer price represented a 60% premium to McAfee's closing price the day before the announcement, placing a higher value on the target than its shares had reached since 1999.

The price tag values McAfee at 16.1 times its Ebitda for the 12 months before the announcement, well above a median multiple of roughly 12 times in comparable transactions. This, combined with Intel's lack of success in absorbing past acquisitions outside of its core processor business, has led to concerns that the McAfee deal, expected to close as early as this month, could be another case of misspent shareholder money.

"Intel has never really demonstrated that it actually understands the software business ... or the security business, for that matter," wrote Gartner Inc. analyst Bob Walder after the deal was announced.

History weighs on the minds of many Intel observers. Indeed, if Intel's experience with large acquisitions in new technology areas is any indication, there's a distinct possibility that the company might not gain all that it hopes to from the deal.

Back in the late '90s, Intel looked to expand beyond its core business of microprocessors for PCs and entered the competitive world of communications processors. In a series of multibillion-dollar deals, it bought DSP Communications Inc. and Level One Communications Inc., among others. By the middle of the last decade, it had failed to make these expensive forays work. It divested and shuttered many of the acquired assets.

Intel's McAfee transaction sparked controversy in Europe when European Union competition authorities voiced concerns that Intel could bar rival security software from working with its chips, which make up the brains of about 80% of the world's PCs. The EU cleared the deal on Jan. 26, but only after securing concessions. It required Intel to furnish rival security firms with tools enabling their products to work with Intel's chips, for one.

The fact that Intel paid a high price for one of the best-known names in network security helped spur other deals in the sector. Business software developer CA Inc. acquired Arcot Systems Inc. for $200 million in August; Hewlett-Packard Co. purchased ArcSight Inc. for $1.5 billion in September; Juniper Networks Inc. nabbed Altor Networks Inc. in December. This year Dell Inc. grabbed SecureWorks Inc. for undisclosed terms.

Intel's motivations are clear. Like so many large technology companies, it sits atop a maturing market and has turned to big-ticket acquisitions for growth. McAfee is part of a relatively recent push by Intel to buy its way into growing markets. Witness its decision to buy German rival Infineon Technologies AG's wireless unit for $1.4 billion in August. In 2009, it scooped up Wind River Systems Inc., a developer of operating systems for mobile devices, for $884 million.

Has Intel learned the lessons of the past, or is it about to repeat past foibles? It's too early to say. Its foray into communications chips began before CEO Paul Otellini took the reins in 2005. The Intel chief seems aware of the difference in cultures between Intel and its software acquisitions. It is running Wind River as a separate subsidiary, and Otellini promises to take the same cautious approach with McAfee.

But whether or not that will be enough for the chipmaker to turn this megadeal into a real success, only time will tell.