Booz Allen, a government and corporate consulting firm, will split its business in two and sell a stake in its government advisory branch to Carlyle Group, the Washington-based private equity firm known for hiring high-profile ex-government staffers and making investments in the defence sector.

Carlyle will pay $2.54bn for a majority stake in Booz Allen’s government consulting business, which generates more than two-thirds of the firm’s revenue and is one of the US government’s biggest contractors.