Northrop hires bankers to sell TASC business, report says

 is shopping its TASC business unit and has Company officials declined to comment on the report that Northrop has hired Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse to sell the unit in what could be a $2 billion deal. TASC provides advanced systems engineering, technical assistance and other analysis and advisory services, primarily to Defense Department and intelligence agencies. Large defense contractors often have divisions that provide these advisory services for programs that other parts of the companies manage, creating potential conflicts of interest. , which tightened rules governing that type of organizational conflicts of interest. Executives in the information technology industry expect more large defense contractors to begin selling off divisions that provide advisory services. Otherwise, they risk being shut out of bidding on large defense programs. The sell-offs will create a buying opportunity for a variety of IT contractors. However, the size of TASC will likely limit the number of buyers to large private equity groups. as potential buyers.