Raytheon Co. is looking for a buyer for its appliance business, known for Amana microwave ovens and Speed Queen washers.

The planned sale, announced Sunday, will help cut into the $11 billion in debt Raytheon will incur in acquiring defense businesses from Texas Instruments Inc. and General Motors Corp.

The appliance business had sales last year of $1.5 billion, 12 percent of the company's total sales of $12.26 billion.