Elbit Systems [ESLT] on Thursday said it has agreed to acquire the Cyber and Intelligence Division of NICE Systems [NICE] for up to $157.9 million in cash in a deal that expands its cyber business.
The transaction, which includes a potential $40 million earn-out provision as part of the overall cash payment, is expected to close early in the third quarter. Both companies are based in Israel and a spokesman for NICE told Defense Daily the deal was hatched by the CEOs of both companies and that no investment banker was involved.
Elbit will include the NICE division in its new CYBERBIT LTD subsidiary, which was established to consolidate Elbit’s existing cyber intelligence and cyber security work. CYBERBIT will focus on both the emerging government and commercial cyber markets.
“The acquisition of NICE’s division is a significant milestone in our strategy to bring Elbit Systems cyber capabilities to the level of global leaders,” Bezhalel Machlis, Elbit’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “The acquisition will enable us to provide our customers with end-to-end, market leading cyber solutions.”
NICE said its Cyber and Intelligence Division is expected to have about $80 million in sales this year. NICE said it is divesting the division to focus on its remaining core businesses, which are enterprise software for customer service and records, data analytics for fighting financial crime and fraud, and security management platforms for critical infrastructure protection.
The Nice division provides solutions for law enforcement and intelligence agencies for creating communication intelligence. Adi Bar, an Elbit executive, is the general manager of CYBERBIT.