According to a Wall Street Journal report, citing anonymous sources and questionnaire supposedly being circulated by European Union (EU) investigators, the materialization of the high-profile acquisition of security-software specialist McAfee by bigwig chipmaker Intel will apparently be delayed due to close scrutiny by European officials.

The sources have revealed that EU’s antitrust regulator has privately expressed some apprehensions about the $7.68 billion acquisition during its preliminary assessment of the deal, thereby underscoring the chances of a comprehensive evaluation.

As per the Journal’s report, the concerns raised by the regulator will likely lead to a wide-ranging study of the implications of the McAfee acquisition by Intel. The report also said that the EU has until January 12, 2011, to either issue a judgment on the deal or to initiate the more-extended review.

Evidently, the EU antitrust regulator has been seeking the opinion of rival security-software companies about the likelihood of Intel giving McAfee products exclusive or special access to some chip features; thereby enabling the products to run more effectively as compared to the offerings of the competitors.

Meanwhile, with Intel having already filed all documents pertaining to government reviews of the acquisition, Kevin Sellers, Intel’s VP of investor relations, said: “We believe the combination of Intel and McAfee will prove important in achieving breakthrough innovations in security and look forward to discussing in more detail our product plans and strategies after the transaction is closed.”