Asset management firm TPG struck a $2.45 billion deal to acquire security company Forcepoint's Global Governments and Critical Infrastructure (G2CI) business from Francisco Partners. The deal, subject to regulatory review and customary closing conditions, is anticipated to close by the end of this year.

As part of the transaction, Forcepoint’s G2CI business will be separated from the company's Commercial business as an independent entity backed by TPG, while Francisco Partners will retain a minority interest in G2CI.

Forcepoint’s Commercial and G2CI business units have been operating as standalone entities since early 2021, with a Forcepoint spokesperson explaining to SDxCentral via email that the vendor doesn't expect the deal to "have material impact to customer services, product delivery or operations as a result."

The G2CI unit offers solutions for remote worker, zero-trust, cloud app, networking, insider threat, critical infrastructure security and resilience. TPG will invest in the unit through TPG Capital, the firm’s U.S. and European late-stage private equity platform.

The firm plans to expand the G2CI platform and further its position in high assurance and zero-trust security, TPG Partner Tim Millikin said in a statement.

“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,” he said. “This is especially true for the public sector, and Forcepoint has designed its platform to address the unique complexities of government objectives and culture.”

Francisco Partners will remain the controlling shareholder in the Forcepoint Commercial business, which will continue to focus on its secure access service edge (SASE) offering.

The global investment firm acquired Forcepoint in January 2021 from Raytheon Technologies. The publicly traded company reported in its earnings that the sale generated about $1.1 billion in gross proceeds, according to The Wall Street Journal. Coinciding with the close of this transaction, Forcepoint appointed Manny Rivelo as CEO.

Rivelo will continue to lead the Commercial business under Francisco Partners, and existing Forcepoint G2CI President Sean Berg will lead the business division under TPG. The Forecpoint spokesperson added that there are no planned changes at this time in Forcepoint's staffing or workforce.

“This 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 worldwide,” Rivelo said in a statement. “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.”

Forcepoint VP Jim Fulton told SDxCentral in an earlier interview that the SASE vendor put data security at its core instead of focusing on the access piece of SASE like most other vendors.