Government & Public Sector Acquisitions in 2021

Analytic Services Inc (ANSER), a Falls Church, Virginia-based public service research institute, has acquired Fairfax-based InTec, LLC, a provider of technical and management expertise to federal Intelligence, Civil and Defense agencies. The acquisition expands ANSER's systems engineering, integration, intelligence operations, and program management capabilities in national and homeland security.

Zencity acquired Vancouver-based digital engagement startup Civil Space to integrate direct community engagement capabilities into its community insights and analytics platform for local governments. Tim Booker, Civil Space's CEO, will join Zencity as Head of Civil Space and lead a new Vancouver office as the companies combine to offer a more inclusive, two-way civic engagement solution.

Guidehouse, a Veritas Capital portfolio company, has acquired Dovel Technologies from Macquarie Capital. The add-on expands Guidehouse's technology and advanced analytics capabilities in health IT, life sciences, public safety and grants management, and brings roughly 1,800–1,900 employees into the combined firm.

Private equity funds managed by Blackstone have signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in VFS Global from EQT Private Equity, with EQT retaining a minority position alongside the Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation. VFS Global, headquartered in Zurich and Dubai, is the world's largest visa outsourcing services provider; Blackstone said it will help accelerate the company's digitization, expand into adjacent services, and capitalize on the global travel recovery. The transaction was expected to close by Q1 2022.

Arlington Capital Partners (through an affiliate) agreed to acquire Systems Planning & Analysis, Inc. (SPA) from CM Equity Partners and SPA management and will combine SPA with Arlington’s existing portfolio company MCR, LLC. The combination creates a specialized government advisory platform with more than 1,200 employees, approximately $350 million in revenue, and expanded systems engineering, modeling & simulation, and advanced analytics capabilities for national security customers.

NEC Software Solutions UK (part of NEC Corporation) agreed to acquire Capita Secure Solutions and Services (SSS), a Chippenham‑based provider of public‑safety software, radio managed services and support services, from Capita plc in a transaction announced October 1, 2021. The deal (reported at £62 million) is intended to expand NEC’s emergency‑services and justice sector offering and combine complementary technology and service capabilities, subject to customary approvals.

Enlightenment Capital-backed Artlin Consulting merged with Sehlke Consulting to form Aeyon, a new platform focused on RPA, AI, data analytics and management consulting for federal customers. The combined company (Aeyon) becomes a portfolio company of Enlightenment Capital and will provide financial management, logistics and acquisition support to national security and civilian agencies.

Sedgwick has acquired Managed Care Advisors, Inc. (MCA), a Bethesda, Maryland-based government contracting firm that provides workers' compensation case and claims management and specialty health plan solutions to the U.S. federal government. MCA will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sedgwick Public Sector, broadening Sedgwick's access to public sector opportunities and adding federally compliant managed-care capabilities and technology to its offerings.

GovExec has acquired the Public Sector 360 Group, a carve-out from 1105 Media Inc., to expand its information, events, lead generation and subscription capabilities in the government technology market. The transaction was completed with financial support from Growth Catalyst Partners; terms were not disclosed.

CivicPlus has acquired Municipal Code Corporation (Municode), a leading codifier of legal documents and provider of agenda/meeting management and municipal website solutions for local governments. The acquisition expands CivicPlus's civic technology portfolio and aligns Municode's products with CivicPlus's Civic Experience Platform to better serve a combined customer base of over 7,000 local government clients.

Vetegrity, LLC acquired DB2, Inc., a Maryland-based small business that provides systems engineering, SETA, software engineering, and project management services to the U.S. Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. The acquisition expands Vetegrity's SETA and engineering capabilities to better support its IC and DoD clients and integrates DB2 personnel into Vetegrity's team.

GovOS, an Audax Private Equity portfolio company (parent Kofile), has acquired MUNIRevs | LODGINGRevs, a Durango, Colorado‑based provider of automated business tax, licensing and short‑term rental compliance solutions for local governments. The acquisition will integrate MUNIRevs' tax collection, licensing and short‑term rental tools into the GovOS digital transformation platform to expand capabilities and revenue collection for state and local jurisdictions; 7 Mile Advisors advised the buyer.

Serent Capital made a minority growth investment in First Due, a cloud-based records and operations management software provider for fire and EMS agencies, to support the company's product, sales and leadership scaling. The capital will enable First Due to continue expanding its all-in-one platform used by hundreds of public safety agencies across the United States.

Deloitte has acquired substantially all assets of Sentek Consulting, Inc. (Sentek Global), a San Diego-based systems engineering and cybersecurity firm that primarily serves the U.S. Navy. The acquisition expands Deloitte’s systems engineering and cyber capabilities and strengthens its presence in San Diego to support Department of Defense and other federal agency missions.

Argosy Private Equity has exited its investment in Library Systems & Services, LLC (LS&S). LS&S, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland with a corporate location in Riverside, California, is an outsourced provider of services to public and government libraries across the United States and during Argosy's ownership expanded its service offering and developed the LibraryIQ analytics product. Argosy acquired LS&S in January 2015 and implemented its Value Acceleration Methodology; the buyer was not disclosed in the announcement.

Valiant Integrated Services completed the acquisition of Alliance Technical Services (ATS), a Norfolk-based provider of third-party logistics, launch site modernization, and refurbishment services for U.S. government customers. The deal strengthens Valiant’s logistics, missile launch refurbishment and warehouse management capabilities and expands its presence in adjacent government services markets; financial terms were not disclosed.

ArchiveSocial, a Durham, North Carolina–based provider of social media archiving for government agencies and school districts, has acquired NextRequest, a FOIA and public records request software provider. The acquisition expands ArchiveSocial's product suite to include public records coordination and request management capabilities to better serve government customers; financial terms were not disclosed.

GovExec acquired two contracting intelligence properties, Military Periscope and the Government Contracting Institute, with financial support from Growth Catalyst Partners. The purchases expand GovExec’s data and insights capabilities for federal and defense contractors by adding opportunity-tracking and defense/military intelligence tools to its portfolio.

HealthTrust, together with its commercial GPO division CoreTrust, has acquired EasiBuy, a Kent, Ohio–based reverse-auction and managed procurement technology provider. The deal will allow HealthTrust to launch a Lead Agency Procurement Organization (LAPO) model to expand cooperative purchasing and drive cost savings for state and local governments, education and nonprofit buyers.

Charterhouse Capital Partners has entered into an agreement to acquire Telio Management GmbH, the European specialist in telephony, video visitation and jamming technology for correctional facilities, from Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG), which will retain a minority stake. Telio is headquartered in Hamburg, operates across 21+ markets and serves over 700 correctional facilities; Charterhouse will work with management to expand Telio's international footprint and broaden its digital services offering.

Versar, Inc., a program management company serving U.S. federal and commercial clients, has acquired BayFirst Solutions, LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based provider of network engineering, cybersecurity, and intelligence support to U.S. government customers including the Department of Homeland Security. The deal expands and diversifies Versar's information technology and intelligence services capabilities and will keep BayFirst leadership in place with Kevin Gooch as CEO and founder Robert Rice joining Versar's board.

The Maven UK Regional Buyout Fund has completed an investment in Pagabo, a UK procurement services specialist, and Sypro, a contract management and compliance software provider. The funding will support the Group’s next stage of growth — scaling the combined procurement and contract-management proposition to capitalise on increased public sector infrastructure spend.

Integrity Management Consulting, a Tysons, Virginia-based federal consulting firm, has acquired MHM Innovations of Fairfax, Virginia, a small provider of systems engineering and program management services to the federal intelligence community. The acquisition expands Integrity's capabilities in systems engineering, data management and cybersecurity and gives it additional contract vehicles to pursue larger, multi-disciplinary national security and defense contracts.

Brightstar Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in Engineering Research and Consulting, Inc. (ERC), a Huntsville, Alabama-based provider of mission-critical engineering and consulting services to the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and other government entities. Dr. Ernie Wu will continue as Board Chair and CEO and the company — which employs approximately 2,200 people nationwide — will partner with Brightstar to pursue operational investments and strategic acquisitions. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

The Riverside Company’s value-based private equity arm has acquired Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. (dba SCRAM Systems), a provider of transdermal alcohol, location monitoring and offender-management software for courts and corrections agencies. SCRAM will be combined with Riverside’s LMG Holdings, Inc. platform (flagship brand LifeSafer) to broaden monitoring product capabilities and expand service offerings and geographic reach to judicial and corrections customers.

Vitu, a vehicle titling and registration technology platform, has acquired Florida-based Jupiter Tag & Title Services, Inc. Jupiter will operate under the Vitu name and Vitu plans to combine its automation and EFS expertise with Jupiter’s fifty-state titling experience to expand services for automotive dealers in Florida and nationwide. The deal supports Vitu’s plans to deepen relationships with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and broaden its regional capacity.

An affiliate of Veritas Capital has completed the all-cash acquisition of Perspecta Inc. for $7.1 billion, with Perspecta stockholders receiving $29.35 per share. Perspecta will be combined with Peraton (a Veritas portfolio company) to create a leading government technology and mission-capability integrator serving defense, intelligence, civilian and health markets.

AMDEX Corporation, an IT and professional services firm based in Silver Spring, Maryland, has acquired Avar Consulting, Inc., a Rockville, Maryland–based policy research and data analytics firm. Avar will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of AMDEX, expanding AMDEX's capabilities in health care quality research, survey methodology, program evaluation and data analytics for federal government customers.

Mission Critical Partners (MCP) has acquired Seattle-based MTG Management Consultants, a provider of strategy, management and IT integration services to state and local government agencies. The deal strengthens MCP’s data-integration, IT and cybersecurity capabilities for the public-safety and justice sectors and expands its client base across the U.S. and into Canada.

Enlightenment Capital has made an undisclosed growth investment in Vienna, Virginia-based Artlin Consulting through its Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) fund to support the company's next phase of growth. Artlin — a data management and professional services provider to Defense and civilian agencies and an incumbent on Washington Headquarters Services contracts — will use the capital at least in part to pursue acquisitions.

White Wolf Capital has completed a recapitalization of JS Global, a Maryland-based government services contractor that builds anti-terrorism and force protection systems. Management will remain a significant minority investor; the transaction provides JS Global with additional capital and resources to accelerate organic growth and pursue M&A initiatives.

VTG has acquired Intelligent Shift LLC, a digital solutions and engineering firm serving the U.S. Intelligence Community, to bolster VTG's systems, software, and digital engineering capabilities. Intelligent Shift, founded in 2017, will continue to be led by its founders and will operate as the Intelligence Community services component of a new VTG business segment, expanding VTG's presence in the national security market.

Chantilly-based System High Corp. has acquired Booz Allen Hamilton Corp.'s Technical, Engineering, Advisory, and Management Support (TEAMS) business that supports the Missile Defense Agency; the deal closed Dec. 31. The acquired segment includes roughly 110 employees (many in Huntsville, Alabama) and expands System High's engineering, cybersecurity and defense contracting capabilities.