By Tim McLaughlin

Westar Aerospace and Defense Group supports helicopter systems through a variety of technologies.

A British defense and research firm has agreed to buy Weldon Spring-based Westar Aerospace & Defense Group Inc. for about $130 million, the companies said Tuesday. The deal is intended to spur more information-technology business with the Pentagon.

Pending government approval, Westar will become a subsidiary of Qinetiq Group PLC. Qinetiq, pronounced "kinetic," is owned by the British Ministry of Defense and the U.S.-based Carlyle Group, an equity and investment firm whose top management includes a Who's Who of Washington insiders.

Carlyle's past and present leaders have included former President George H.W. Bush, former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III. Qinetiq projects have included a plastic tank and an airship equipped with ground-penetrating radar to detect land mines.

Westar provides the Pentagon with information-technology services, including programs that help the military simulate battlefield scenarios.

The Westar deal comes as Qinetiq contemplates an initial public stock offering in the United Kingdom and seeks to expand its business prospects in the United States.

Doug Childress, Westar's chief financial officer, said the company's management team will remain intact and continue to operate from its headquarters in the Missouri Research Park. Westar said it employs about 100 people in the St. Louis area and hopes to double employment here in the next few years.

While Westar has had St. Louis-area operations for several years, it only recently moved its corporate headquarters from Albuquerque, N.M., to the research park, where it's building a 24,000-square-foot expansion to an existing facility.

Overall, the company employs more than 900 people, mostly in Alabama. Westar works on classified defense programs and counts the Army Aviation and Missile Command among its customers.

Westar generated $78 million in revenue in 2003 and expects to see that rise to $145 million this year as a result of internal growth and acquisitions, Childress said. In the last five years, Westar has produced compound annual growth of 38 percent.

In a statement, John Chisholm, Qinetiq's chief executive, said, "This is another key step to delivering our strategy of expanding into the U.S. defense and security markets."

Most of the shares of privately held Westar are owned by founder Joe Durant, company President Robert Topping and Chicago-based equity investors Edgewater Funds and Mesirow Financial.

Founded in 1986, Westar late last year bought Elmco of Huntsville, Ala., which specializes in missile defense and space programs. Edgewater led a $21.5 million investment in Westar to help the company complete that deal.

Qinetiq, in its latest annual results, posted operating profit of $102.1 million on revenues of $1.43 billion.

Westar Aerospace & Defense Group Inc.

President: Robert Topping

Annual revenue (2004): $145 million

Headquarters: Weldon Spring

Employees: More than 900, with about 100 in the St. Louis area

Products: Information technology, including programs that allow the military to simulate battlefield scenarios

Proposed buyer: Qinetiq Group PLC, which is majority owned by the British Ministry of Defense, with Washington-based Carlyle Group as a minority shareholder