In recent weeks the GovCon community has experienced significant M&A and restructuring activity. Notable transactions include:
- H.I.G.’s purchase of WBB for an undisclosed sum
- General Atomics’ purchase of a majority of Surrey Satellite Technology US’s assets for an undisclosed sum
- The Celerian Group’s acquisition of JBS International
- The completion of Boeing’s acquisition of Aurora Flight Sciences
- L2 Defense’s purchase of Advanced Technical and Educational Consultants
- CenturyLink closing its acquisition of Level 3 Communications
- Radiant Solutions combining four legacy business units into a single entity
On November 14th, H.I.G. Capital announced that it had purchased Whitney, Bradley and Brown for an undisclosed amount. WBB is a program management and consulting services provider for federal agencies. Robert Olsen, WBB CEO, said in a statement that the company seeks to utilize H.I.G.’s resources in efforts to expand capabilities and services for federal agency customers. “We believe WBB’s existing services provide a strong foundation and are looking forward to working with the team to expand WBB’s capabilities through organic investments and complementary acquisitions,†added Jeff Zanarini, a managing director at H.I.G.
On November 13th, General Atomics released a statement announcing its purchase of the majority ofSurrey Satellite Technology US’ assets for an undisclosed sum. The purchase was part of General Atomics’ strategy to bolster their small satellite and other payload capabilities. Surrey-US’ employees and assets will be integrated into General Atomics’ electromagnetic systems business. “We look forward to the Surrey-US team joining us as we continue to expand our portfolio of small satellite and mission-support capabilities,†said Scott Forney, president of General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems. The acquisition will provide GA-EMS with greater opportunities to offer ground-to-space platforms through the utilization of micro- and nano-satellites, Forney added. Furthermore, the purchase will allow for GA-EMS to leverage Surrey-US’ small satellite design and deployment expertise.
On November 9th, the Celerian Group acquired JBS International in order to expand technology and business management service offerings to the public and private sectors. JBS International provides social science research and technical services for the purpose of helping government customers address health and social issues. JBS also maintains a portfolio of data analytics, business process development, performance management, strategic communications and web/mobile development services. The Celerian Group noted that JBS will continue to operate out of its current headquarters in Bethesda, MD and its facilities in four other states. The Celerian Group represents numerous companies that provide administrative, IT, training and program management services to state and federal government agencies.
On November 8th, Boeing announced that it had wrapped up its purchase of Aurora Flight Sciences for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was made in order to strengthen Boeing’s autonomous technology development capabilities. Boeing noted that Aurora will continue to operate under its business name and will be joining Boeing’s engineering, test and technology group. The acquisition will allow for Aurora to benefit from Boeing’s resources while retaining an independent operating model.
On November 2nd, L2 Defense purchased Advanced Technical and Educational Consultants for an undisclosed amount in order to expand its emergency management simulation and training offerings for defense, first responder and national security sector clients. Sam Lennon, president of L2 Defense, said that the acquisition will lead to a combination of L2’s logistics planning and military training experience with ATEC’s knowledge and technical experience in the first responder market, which will allow for an improved ability to deliver technology platforms to incident response and emergency management customers. The newly combined entity will support government clients like FEMA, the U.S. Army Northern Command, the National Guard Bureau and the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense.
On November 1st, CenturyLink completed its $34 billion acquisition of Level 3 Communications. The merger’s completion signals the creation of a combined entity valued at $24 billion in estimated pro forma annual revenue and a global network that connects 350 metropolitan areas with upwards of 10,000 on-net, fiber-equipped buildings. The new combined entity expects to generate an estimated 75 percent of its core revenue from business clients with nearly two-thirds of that revenue coming from strategic services. Glen Post, CEO of CenturyLink, noted that the combined company will provide an expanded portfolio of communications platforms designed to fulfill clients’ IT and networking requirements.
Although not strictly M&A activity, on November 13th Radiant Solutions, a Maxar Technologies business unit, announced its new strategy to combine its legacy businesses into a single entity. The geospatial services units and businesses that will operate under the newly formed Radiant Solutions include DigitalGlobe Intelligence Solutions, RadiantBlue, MDA Information Systems and HumanGeo. Tony Frazier, president of Radiant Solutions, said that the restructuring seeks to create a commercial mindset that will address national security issues. “We are driven to help our customers break down those silos and get to the best geospatial information and insights across multiple sources on rapid timelines based on our unmatched data collection, enrichment and analytic capabilities,†Frazier said.
