NetIQ has agreed to sell its Web analytics business unit, WebTrends, to the division’s management team and private equity firm Francisco Partners for $94 million. The purchasers plan to operate the company as a standalone private entity. The transaction, which is expected to close this quarter, has the full support of the WebTrends and NetIQ management teams. “As a privately held company, we’ll be much more nimble and be able to move faster,” said Greg Drew, general manager of the WebTrends unit of NetIQ. Drew will assume the role of president and CEO of WebTrends after the transaction. The company will continue to build on its WebTrends 7 platform, and maintain existing relationships with partners like ExactTarget for e-mail marketing and WebPosition for search marketing. Drew said that all of WebTrends’ 247 employees will remain in place. The majority of employees are in its Portland, Ore., headquarters.

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