TeleSign Corp. of Marina del Rey, a developer of user authentication software, announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to be acquired for $230 million in cash by telecommunications company BICS of Belgium.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year after regulatory review. TeleSign will continue to operate independently under its own name as a wholly-owned subsidiary and will continue to be led by Chief Executive Aled Miles.

The two companies see their joining as an opportunity to seize a piece of the fast-growing messaging market, and pointed to a report by IDC Research Inc. that forecasts the worldwide voice and text messaging communications market to grow from $867 million in 2016 to $8.2 billion in 2021.

“By combining the power of TeleSign’s advanced cloud communication platform and customer base with BICS’ market-leading footprint and global reach, we are well positioned to lead the development of one of technology’s most exciting sectors,” Daniel Kurgan, chief executive of BICS, said in a statement.

TeleSign’s annual revenue has risen to about $100 million since its founding in 2005, according to a statement by Miles. The firm raised about $78 million from venture capitalists, including Santa Monica firm March Capital Partners.

Technology reporter Garrett Reim can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @garrettreim for the latest in L.A. tech news.