Blue Bell-based Unisys saw its shares soar 46 percent after it agreed to sell its government contracting unit to SAIC for $1.2 billion, writes Joseph DiStefano for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The cash from the sale will allow Unisys to build and purchase better products for its private-sector and foreign-focused Enterprise Solutions group. It will also help sell more of the company’s licensed Stealth security and CloudForte automation software, InteliServe managed services, and ClearPath processing systems.

“The shackles have come off the company,” said Peter Altabef, Unisys’s CEO.

The deal will cut the company’s total debt by more than half, reducing it to $800 million from $1.9 billion and freeing up cash flow for investment in new business.

“We expect to be able to invest more in new solutions” and gain “the ability to pursue larger deals,” said Altabef.

Unisys will use part of the proceeds to buy back $440 million in senior secured notes as well as adding $600 million to pension plans. This will reduce its unfunded liability to $1.14 billion and cover its looming contributions for the next three years.

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