Raytheon Websense rebrands as Forcepoint

Raytheon Websense -- the cybersecurity company formed last year and geared at both government agencies and private companies -- will announce today its new name is Forcepoint.

The business was formed in May, when Raytheon and private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners formed a joint venture. Under the deal, Raytheon acquired cybersecurity business Websense, a portfolio company of Vista, and contributed $1.9 billion to the joint venture, including a $600 million intercompany loan as well as the assets and intellectual property of Raytheon Cyber Products. That business was valued at $400 million.

Raytheon owns about 80 percent of the joint venture, while Vista owns the other roughly 20 percent.

Ed Hammersla, chief strategy officer at what is now Forcepoint, told Inside Defense this week the Raytheon Websense name was always intended to be temporary.

"We knew that going in . . . and so, from day one, we've thought that we should get ourselves a new identity," he said. The joint venture "warrants a new name and not just a feeling that, hey, we pushed a couple companies together."

As part of Thursday's announcement, Forcepoint also said it has acquired the Stonesoft next-generation firewall business as well as Sidewinder proxy firewall technologies and teams from Intel Security.

Hammersla said Forcepoint continues to seek new acquisitions as it grows.

"Six months into the venture, we're already out acquiring new technologies that add to the portfolio," he said. "The vision of the joint venture is beginning to come together."