Israeli defense electronics firm Elbit has agreed to buy Nice Systems' cyber and intelligence division for $157.9 million.

The largest listed defense company will pay $117.9 million in cash at closure of the deal. The purchase is being done to boost Elbit’s presence in this fast-growing market. The company’s drones and surveillance systems are top sellers around the world.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. An additional amount of up to $40 million will be paid based upon the business' future performance.

Nice's cyber and intelligence division will be acquired by CYBERBIT, Elbit's subsidiary that was recently established to consolidate the company's activities in cyber intelligence and cyber security.

The division provides law enforcement agencies and intelligence organizations with tools to generate intelligence from communications.

Elbit Chief Executive Bezhalel Machlis said, "Nice is a well-known world leader in the cyber intelligence industry and its business activities and capabilities are complementary to ours”. Earlier this week, Machlis said that he sees cyber security and intelligence as growth engines for the company.

The analytical software of Nice enables companies to spot fraud and discourage security threats. Nice said that the acquisition by Elbit would allow it to place greater focus on its core markets.

Nice mentioned that its previous forecast included a full-year contribution from the intelligence division of $80 million in revenue and 9 cents in diluted earnings per share (EPS) excluding one-off items. Its forecast included a contribution of $20 million in revenue and 3 cents in adjusted EPS for the second quarter.

Nice now expects second quarter revenue from its continued operations to be in a range of $229 million to $237 million as a result of this agreement.