Forcepoint’s defense and intelligence business acquired for $2.4 billion

One of the world’s largest private equity firms, TPG, is acquiring the government services unit of cybersecurity company Forcepoint for about $2.4 billion.

Austin-based Forcepoint said Monday that selling off its Global Governments and Critical Infrastructure (G2CI) business will allow it to focus on its commercial accounts. That part of Forcepoint will remain with investment firm Francisco Partners, which acquired Forcepoint in 2021 from Raytheon.

It’s one of the larger cybersecurity-related acquisitions so far in 2023. Investment firm Vista Equity Partners completed a $4.4 billion deal in February for KnowBe4, a security training platform.

Reports had said earlier this year that Forcepoint was looking to unload the government unit so it could focus on the commercial business.

After the sale, G2CI will continue to be a “comprehensive, next-generation cybersecurity provider for defense, intelligence, and critical national infrastructure organizations across the globe,” Forcepoint said.

Forcepoint has a deep history with federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and the intelligence community.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023, Forcepoint said.

TPG’s investments in cybersecurity companies have included cloud security provider Zscaler and endpoint management platform Tanium. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, TPG says it manages more than $137 billion in assets.