MGT Capital said on Monday it would change its name to John McAfee Global Technologies Inc and that it would buy some assets of McAfee's anti-spy software company, D-Vasive Inc.
Shares of MGT, which had a market value of about $5 million on Friday, soared 85 percent to 66 cents in early trading.
McAfee, an online celebrity who sold his eponymous anti-virus company to Intel Corp in 2011 for $7.6 billion, is also a presidential candidate for the November 2016 election.
McAfee fled his home in Belize in 2012 after police sought to question him about the murder of a neighbor. They later said he was not a suspect.
MGT, which is run out of Harrison, New York, said it would buy the D-Vasive assets for $300,000 in cash and 23.8 million restricted shares of MGT.
MGT and its subsidiaries primarily acquire and develop intellectual property assets, including social casino and gaming platforms.
(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Ted Kerr)
