WASHINGTON — Burdened by lawsuits, criminal investigations and negative publicity stemming from its private security work in Iraq and Afghanistan, Blackwater Worldwide is being put up for sale, the company has announced. 
 
 Blackwater, which changed its name to Xe Services and brought in new management last year in order to remake its image, is pursuing a sale in part because that overhaul has failed to change perceptions of the company, most critically inside government, which is its main customer. 
 
 Erik Prince, the former member of the Navy Seals and heir to an automotive fortune who founded Blackwater, said in a statement given to The Associated Press late Monday that making the decision to sell the company was difficult, but that he no longer wanted to deal with the intense criticism the business has faced. 
 
 “Performance doesn’t matter in Washington, just politics,” Mr. Prince said. 
 
 A separate statement from the company’s headquarters, in Moyock, N.C., said, “Xe’s new management team has made significant changes and improvements to the company over the last 15 months, which have enabled the company to better serve the U.S. government and other customers, and will deliver additional value to a purchaser.” 
 
 In March, Xe Services sold its aviation division, Presidential Airways, to the AAR Corporation, which is based in Illinois. Among the company’s largest remaining assets is the 7,000-acre compound it operates at its headquarters, which includes shooting ranges, driving courses and other facilities for military and law enforcement training. 
 
 The effort to sell the company comes in the wake of intense legal scrutiny of its past management. 
 
 In April, five former Blackwater executives, including its past president, Gary Jackson, who had served as Mr. Prince’s most trusted lieutenant, were indicted on federal weapons charges. Separately, the Justice Department has opened an inquiry into whether Blackwater officials sought to bribe Iraqi government officials in order to continue to operate in Iraq after a 2007 shooting involving Blackwater guards in which 17 Iraqi civilians were killed. Manslaughter charges brought against five of the guards were dismissed last year, but the Justice Department is appealing the decision. ||||| The security firm formerly known as Blackwater is looking for new ownership, announcing Monday it is pursuing a sale of the company that became renowned and reviled for its involvement with the U.S. government in Iraq and elsewhere. 
 
 The Moyock, North Carolina-based company now called Xe Services announced its decision in a brief statement that gave few details. 
 
 "Xe's new management team has made significant changes and improvements to the company over the last 15 months, which have enabled the company to better serve the U.S. government and other customers, and will deliver additional value to a purchaser," the statement said. 
 
 Owner and founder Erik Prince said selling the company is a difficult decision, but constant criticsm of Xe helped him make up his mind. 
 
 "Performance doesn't matter in Washington, just politics," Prince said in a further statement. 
 
 The private company became famous as Blackwater, which provided guards and services to the U.S. government in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. It became one of the most respected defense contractors in the world, but also attracted sharp criticism over its role in those missions. 
 
 It has been trying to rehabilitate its image since a 2007 shooting in Baghdad that killed 17 people, outraged the Iraqi government and led to federal charges against several Blackwater guards. The accusations later were thrown out of court after a judge found prosecutors mishandled evidence. 
 
 In March, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin suggested the Pentagon should consider banning Xe from a $1 billion deal to train Afghan police. The Michigan Democrat said he thought the company's involvement was hindering the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. 
 
 Prince, who founded the company in 1997 along with former colleagues from the Navy SEALs, said he does not anticipate having any role in Xe after the sale. 
 
 The process of finding a buyer and completing the deal is expected to take several months, according to spokeswoman Stacy DeLuke. 
 
 The announcement comes less than three months after Xe sold its aviation division for $200 million to Wood Dale, Illinois-based AAR Corp in a bid to strengthen Xe's balance sheet. 
 
 More recently, five former executives, including Gary Jackson, the company's ex-president, were indicted on charges of conspiring to violate federal firearms laws. Jackson was among the top officials who left the company last year in a management shakeup. 
 
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 Associated Press Writer Mike Baker contributed to this report.
– The private security firm that used to be known as Blackwater is up for sale, after a recent name change to Xe Services failed to cure its dismal reputation. Founder Erik Prince has put the company on the block, saying improvements since the disastrous shootout at a Baghdad intersection in 2007 should have put the company back in the good graces of the US government, but they haven't. “Performance doesn’t matter in Washington, just politics,” he complains in a statement given to the AP. Xe is still dogged by the five former execs facing weapons charges, a Justice Department inquiry into attempts to bribe Iraqi officials, and ongoing manslaughter cases against its former guards for the 2007 shooting spree, in which 17 Iraqi civilians died, the New York Times notes. While Xe Services has already sold off its aviation division, the lucky buyer will get the company's 7,000-acre compound in North Carolina, featuring shooting ranges and other military and law enforcement training facilities.