And Blackwater founder Erik Prince is expected to announce today the sale of his private military firm to a group of investors with whom he’s closely tied. According to the New York Times, Prince has reached a deal to sell his company to a group of Los Angeles-based investors. The sale was reportedly prompted by a U.S. State Department threat to stop awarding contracts to Blackwater so long as Prince remained in charge. But Prince is expected to maintain a heavy stake in the company, with a clause that conditions payments on Blackwater’s financial performance over the next several years. One of the lead investors, Jason DeYonker of Forté Capital Advisors, helped advise Prince during Blackwater’s founding and helped negotiate the company’s first U.S. government training contracts. The other main investor is the New York-based private equity firm Manhattan Growth Partners. Bank of America helped finance the reported $200 million deal. Prince moved from the United States to Abu Dhabi earlier this year in what critics called a preemptive move to avoid possible criminal indictment.