A report by financial services company Raymond James (NYSE: RJF) indicates that 79 mergers and acquisitions occurred in the defense and government market during the second quarter of 2024, a 6.7 percent increase from the prior-year period.
The June report was issued by Raymond James’ defense and government investment banking team, where 2024 Wash100 awardee Sam Maness and Andy McEnroe serve as managing directors.
M&A Activity in Defense and Government Market
According to Raymond James’ market intel report, the government services sector accounted for 41 percent of the 79 M&As, followed by the aerospace and space/manufacturing segment at 30 percent and government and defense technology sector at 29 percent.
When it comes to M&A activity breakdown by buyer type, private equity firms represented 54 percent and strategic acquirers accounted for 46 percent of the transactions in Q2 2024.
Some of the M&A deals mentioned in the report are Bernhard Capital Partners’ acquisition of Apogee Engineering to expand its government services platform, Deloitte’s purchase of Gryphon Scientific to broaden biosecurity and public health capabilities and the move of BCS to buy Allegient Defense from NowVertical Group.
Defense and Government Contract Awards
Raymond James cited defense and government contracts awarded to GovCon companies during the quarter, including a potential $7 billion contract awarded by the U.S. Air Force to Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) to provide modernization and sustainment support services for the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and a potential $756 million contract Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) secured from the U.S. Army to produce additional battery equipment for the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon system.
Market Performance of Public Companies in Defense and Government Market
The report also highlighted the stock and financial performances of public companies in government services, defense technology, diversified IT and space and satellite markets.
Those companies include Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH), Boeing (NYSE: BA), CACI International (NYSE: CACI), ICF (Nasdaq: ICFI), Leidos (NYSE: LDOS) Parsons (NYSE: PSN), RTX (NYSE: RTX) and Science Applications International Corp. (NYSE: SAIC).
