Two Private Equity Firms to Acquire Forescout for $1.9B Cash; Michael DeCesare Quoted

Advent International and Crosspoint Capital Partners have agreed to acquire Forescout Technologies (Nasdaw: FSCT) for $33 per share in cash, or approximately $1.9B, in a deal that will take the cybersecurity software provider private.

Michael DeCesare will remain as Forescout's president and CEO after the deal closes, the company said Thursday.

The agreement allows the San Jose, Calif.-based device security firm to solicit third-party acquisition bids during a "go-shop" period that runs through March 8.

The two private equity firms seek to help Forescout build up its status as a provider of software designed to help government and enterprise customers protect operational technology and internet-of-things platorms from cyber threats.

“We are still in early innings of a large market opportunity as every organization needs visibility into what is connecting to their network and how to mitigate against high risk devices, including non-traditional IoT and OT devices," DeCesare said.

All parties expect to close the transaction in the second quarter, pending customary closing conditions.

The deal comes more than two weeks after Advent completed its approximately $5B purchase of U.K.-based aerospace and defense technology supplier Cobham.

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