Dell closes deal to sell RSA Security to private equity firm STG Partners for $2B

Dell has struck a deal to sell RSA Security to private equity firm STG Partners. Dell announced Tuesday that it's selling RSA Security to STG in an all-cash deal for $2.075 billion, subject to certain adjustments.

The transaction, which includes the purchase of RSA Archer, RSA NetWitness Platform, RSA SecurID, RSA Fraud and Risk Intelligence and the company's RSA Conference, is expected to close in the next six to nine months. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The RSA Conference is among the world’s largest security conferences.

RELATED: Dell reportedly mulls sell-off of RSA cybersecurity business for $1B

Rumors started surfacing in November that Dell was looking to move on from RSA Security in order to focus on its core businesses.

“This is the right long-term strategy for Dell, RSA and our collective customers and partners,” said Jeff Clarke, chief operating officer and vice chairman, Dell Technologies, in a statement. “The transaction will further simplify our business and product portfolio. It also allows Dell Technologies to focus on our strategy to build automated and intelligent security into infrastructure, platforms and devices to keep data safe, protected and resilient.”

RSA Security, which was founded in 1982, provides cybersecurity solutions that are designed to help organizations detect, investigate, and respond to advanced attacks, and help reduce IP theft, fraud, and cybercrime. RSA protects more than 30,000 customers and said on its website that it "helps more than 90% of the Fortune 500 companies thrive and continuously adapt to transformational change." RSA uses software tokens to perform two-factor authentication for a user connecting to a network resource.

EMC bought RSA for about $2.1 billion in 2006. RSA came under Dell's roof after Dell bought EMC for $67 billion in 2016.

Along with data center companies, cybersecurity companies have become acquisition targets over the past few years for private equity firms and vendors as service providers, enterprises and organizations try to keep pace with evolving cybersecurity threats.

RELATED: Broadcom unloads Symantec security business to Accenture for undisclosed sum

According to a story by CRN, talks between Cisco and platform security vendor FireEye heated up this month. Two years ago, Cisco bought Duo Security for $2.35 billion in cash and assumed equity awards.

After closing a deal last year to buy Symantec's enterprise security business for $10.7 billion, Broadcom announced in January it was selling it to Accenture for an undisclosed sum.