Booz Allen Hamilton will raise $300 million via IPO

One of the nation's largest technology contractors, Booz Allen Hamilton, announced Monday it will work to raise up to $300 million through an initial public offering of stock.

Booz Allen is a leading provider of management and technology consulting services to the federal government in the defense, intelligence and civilian markets. The McLean, Va.-based firm split its government and commercial units in 2008; the commercial unit operates independently as Booz & Company, while the government unit was purchased for $2.54 billion by the private equity firm the Carlyle Group.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Booz Allen said it intends to list shares under the ticker symbol "BAH" but did not reveal how many shares it would issue or what the initial price would be. The firm said it would use the funds to pay off debt.

Morgan Stanley, Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse will serve as as joint book-running managers of the offering, while several firms — including BB&T, Lazard Capital and Raymond James & Associates — act as co-managers.