Forcepoint explores sale of government cybersecurity unit - sources

By Milana Vinn

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cybersecurity firm Forcepoint is exploring a sale of its government security unit for more than $2 billion, five people familiar with the matter said.

Forcepoint, which is owned by private equity firm Francisco Partners, is working with Citigroup on the sale process of the unit, the sources said, cautioning that the talks are at an early stage and no deal is certain.

Forcepoint is looking to offload the unit as part of its strategy to focus on growing its commercial business, which caters to large corporations, the sources added.

Francisco Partners and Citigroup declined to comment, while Forcepoint did not return a Reuters request for comment.

Austin, Texas-based Forcepoint develops and creates computer security software, data protection, and firewall solutions. Its business that caters to the U.S. government currently generates about $400 million of annual revenue, two of the sources said.

Last year, Forcepoint won an $89 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to provide software solutions that would help monitor user activity.

Forcepoint also counts the likes of International Business Machines Corp, CVS Health Corp, Microsoft Corp and Qualcomm Inc as customers.

Francisco Partners bought Forcepoint from Raytheon Technologies in October 2020 for an undisclosed amount.

(Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York; Editing by Mark Potter)