G4S agrees sale of U.S. government unit, revenues rise

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - G4S (LSE: GFS.L - news) , the world's biggest security firm, said it had agreed to sell its U.S. government solutions business, as it posted underlying revenue growth of 4.2 percent for the first nine months of the year.

G4S had marketed the U.S. business, which provides services such as security, fire protection and mine clearance, for some time and said on Wednesday it had agreed a binding sale and purchase agreement with an unnamed party for $135 million.

Following on from a 4.1 percent revenue rise for the half year, G4S said growth had continued to be led by emerging markets, where organic revenue was up 11 percent for the nine months to Sept. 30, versus a 1 percent rise in developed markets. (Reporting by Neil Maidment; editing by Sarah Young)