Forcepoint To Sell Government Unit To TPG, Creating ‘Leader’ In Zero Trust Security

TPG is acquiring Forcepoint’s government and critical infrastructure security business. Here’s what investors, customers and partners need to know.

Cybersecurity standout Forcepoint is selling its global governments and critical infrastructure (G2CI) business to asset management giant TPG in a move to position the company as “a leader” in zero trust security.

Although financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, multiple news outlets have reported the acquisition as having a $2.45 billion price tag.

The acquisition will separate Forcepoint’s commercial and G2CI businesses, and will establish G2CI as an independent entity under ownership of TPG. TPG’s goal is to better enable Forcepoint G2CI to operate with greater flexibility and focus, positioning the new company to grow its platform as a next-generation cybersecurity provider for defense, intelligence, and critical national infrastructure organizations across the globe.

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“Today’s operating environment—one in which data volumes are compounding, attack surfaces are broadening, and threats are growing in sophistication—demands dynamic security solutions,” said TPG partner Tim Millikin in a statement. “This is especially true for the public sector, and Forcepoint has designed its platform to address the unique complexities of government objectives and culture. We’re excited to partner with [the] G2CI team to expand the platform and further its position as a leader in high assurance, zero trust security.”

The asset management firm has approximately $137 billion of assets under management and operational teams across the globe.

Sean Berg, president of global governments and critical infrastructure at Forcepoint, said TPG has a long history of carving-out, building, and scaling world-class cybersecurity companies.

“It’s our mission to support the national security and intelligence communities by providing trusted, data-driven security solutions that enable them to collaborate and conduct mission-critical work securely and effectively,” said Berg in a statement. “We’re confident that this partnership, along with continued support from Francisco Partners, will provide us the resources and expertise to strengthen our position as a partner of choice for government agencies.”

Forcepoint’s Acquisition History

In 2021, Forcepoint was acquired by global investment firm Francisco Partners from defense contracting giant Raytheon.

Forcepoint’s commercial business, which focuses on simplifying security through a data-first SASE approach to cloud-delivered security and connectivity, will continue to be owned by Francisco Partners and its existing co-investors.

TPG will invest in Forcepoint G2CI via TPG Capital, the firm’s U.S. and European late-stage private equity platform. TPG has invested in security companies like McAfee, Zscaler and Tanium.

Forcepoint CEO Manny Rivelo said the transaction represents an exciting opportunity for the Forcepoint G2CI business to “continue its trajectory of growth, delivering high assurance security to government and critical infrastructure customers” on a global basis.

“Similarly, it enables the Forcepoint Commercial business to further focus investment and innovation in accelerating growth of the company’s Data-first SASE platform, Forcepoint ONE, while delivering increased value to our customers,” Rivelo said in a statement.

The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2023.