Raytheon acquires cyber firm for $1.9 billion

Weapons manufacturer Raytheon is rapidly expanding its cybersecurity business with the $1.9 billion acquisition of Websense, a security software company.

Massachusetts-based Raytheon plans to combine Websense with its existing cyber unit, which is worth $400 million, according to Reuters. Websense is currently owned by Vista Partners, a private equity firm.

{mosads}The purchase will boost Raytheon in the cyber solutions space, where defense companies have struggled to make inroads. Websense, which will form the core of Raytheon’s cyber business, brings an experienced sales staff that is used to working with non-defense clients, according to reports.

“While Raytheon comes from the defense arena, we think this deal speaks to the growing importance of cyber security to protect enterprises, as well as government assets, from malicious activity and state attacks,” FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives wrote in an alert.

Raytheon is making a concerted effort to establish itself in the realm of cybersecurity, paying four to five times Websense’s annual sales in the “largest acquisition in a decade by one of the nation’s five prime [defense] contractors,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

In total, the company has made 14 cyber-related acquisitions since 2007.