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Forescout Buyout Price: $1.4 Billion, Cut From $1.9 Billion

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Private equity firm Advent International has agreed to acquire cybersecurity and device visibility technology company Forescout Technologies for the revised price of $1.4 billion. Advent and Forescout previously agreed on a $1.9 billion deal, but the private equity firm abandoned that previous price when the coronavirus pandemic upended portions of the global economy.

Forescout's board of directors unanimously approved the revised agreement, and the $1.4 billion transaction is expected to be finalized by the end of August 2020.

In addition, Nicholas Noviello -- a Symantec, NetApp and Blue Coat veteran -- will Forescout as its COO.

Under the terms of the revised merger agreement, Advent will acquire all outstanding shares of Forescout common stock for $29 per share, according to a prepared statement. In addition, Forescout and Advent reached a settlement agreement as a result of which pending litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery will be dismissed.

Forescout in May filed a lawsuit against Advent that alleged the investor illegally backed out of a purchase agreement. Advent previously agreed to buy Forescout for $1.9 billion.

Forescout remains committed to helping its customers address security challenges, CEO Michael DeCesare stated. Furthermore, Forescout plans to explore strategic cloud transformation opportunities and transition to a recurring subscription business model.

Meanwhile, Forescout has projected its total revenue for the second quarter of 2020 to fall between $78 million and $82 million, which would represent a 40 percent year-over-year increase. Forescout also recorded total revenue of $336.8 million last year, up from $297.7 million in 2018.

Dan Kobialka

Dan Kobialka is senior contributing editor, MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E. He covers IT security, IT service provider business strategies and partner programs. Dan holds a M.A. in Print and Multimedia Journalism from Emerson College and a B.A. in English from Bridgewater State University. In his free time, Dan enjoys jogging, traveling, playing sports, touring breweries and watching football.