Feb. 22 – Feb. 26 2016

Consolidation among the large players the government services market have been well-documented in spaces such as these but the product makers in GovCon also have been in on the M&A deal action over the past 14 months.

Lockheed Martin’s $9 billion purchase of helicopter maker Sikorsky was 2015’s largest transaction on the platforms and systems side of government contracting and a collection of other technology-related acquisitions also factored in the M&A landscape.

Video and surveillance systems, cybersecurity and secure communications were among the most notable target areas for GovCon’s technology makers that sought to add new products they believe can help boost operating margins and solidify their revenue bases.

This week, General Dynamics announced such a move through its acquisition of underwater drone maker Bluefin Robotics to combine the latter’s manufacturing capability with the former’s integration service work with the U.S. Navy.

In another example from last year, L-3 Communications contributed to GovCon services consolidation through its NSS divestiture earlier this year and also looked to add new footprints in the ISR and geospatial technology markets through its October 2015 purchase of ForceX.

For its part, San Diego-based Cubic has made a triple play of acquisitions in the C4ISR arena for almost $400 million with a view toward return and growth for its defense segment and our site ExecutiveBiz got an inside view of this strategy from CEO Brad Feldmann.

ExecutiveBiz recently spoke to Feldmann at the site of one of those acquired companies to learn why Cubic views C4ISR as an engine for growth, what defense customers are looking for in surveillance and communications technology and what has driven GovCon’s product makers to make targeted product-based acquisitions.

For more of Feldmann’s perspective on Cubic’s defense strategy and his view on the global government contracting market picture, please click here to read the full article.

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