A Note From Our President & Founder Jim Garrettson
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. Capitalannounced 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 Atomicsreleased 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 GroupacquiredJBS 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 purchasedAdvanced 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, CenturyLinkcompleted 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 13thRadiant 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.
THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS STORIES
Weekly Contract Awards This week’s top GovCon contract awards. Raytheon, BAE Systems, CSRA, General Electric, Ball Aerospace & Technologies, Lockheed Martin, and many others.
DARPA Appoints Steven Walker Full-Time Director Steven Walker, formerly deputy director and acting director at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has been appointed to lead DARPA on a full-time basis.
Deborah Ricci Succeeds Barry Broadus as Constellis CFO
Deborah Ricci, formerly senior vice president of finance and accounting at Constellis, has been promoted to chief financial officer of the Reston, Virginia-based risk management and operational support services contractor.
BAE, Northrop Mark B-21 Bomber Project Collaboration
BAE Systems hosted an event at a company facility in Nashua, New Hampshire, last week to mark a partnership between BAE and Northrop Grumman to help build the U.S. Air Force‘s B-21 Raider bomber aircraft.
Jerry Wohletz, a senior executive at BAE Systems’ U.S. subsidiary, will assume the role of president and CEO of Draper on June 27. He succeeds William LaPlante, a 2022 Wash100 awardee and who left Draper in April after the Senate confirmed him to serve as undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Department of Defense,
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency awarded positions to five companies on a seven-year, $500 million contract vehicle for mission critical operations support services. NGA named the participants in the agency’s GEOINT Enterprise Operations Service and Solutions Program with Industry in a notice posted Wednesday on SAM.gov. The GEO-SPI A: Mission Critical Operations indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract is slated
Ian Reason, a two-decade aerospace and defense sector veteran, has been named a senior vice president at Barnes Group (NYSE: B) and president of the company’s aerospace business. His appointment takes effect May 2 and he will succeed Michael Beck, who intends to retire on April 30, Barnes said Monday. Reason most recently served as
We use cookies to offer you a better browsing experience, analyze site traffic, personalize content, and serve targeted advertisements. Read about how we use cookies and how you can control them on our Privacy Policy. If you continue to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies.