Group represented government contractors in 15 M&A transactions closed in 2005
WASHINGTON, DC (February 28, 2006) – Completing a strong year for a nascent practice, Venable LLP’s Government Contractor Services Group announced that it served as legal advisor on fifteen transactions closed in 2005, including three of the “Top 10” deals in the government services space as chosen by Washington Technology magazine.
“Having formally launched our working group just a year ago, 2005 turned out to have been an opportune time to strengthen our focus on corporate advisory work for government contractors, who have been experiencing consolidation along with new growth in some sectors,” said Joe Schmelter, a Venable corporate partner who co-heads the practice together with Scott Hommer and John Pavlick, government contracts partners at Venable.
“Government contracting services has become an active space on the deal front and we’re glad to have played a key role in some of the major transactions of the past year. Seeing the same factors continuing at work in the market, we are hoping to stay fully engaged in the coming year,” Schmelter added.
Washington Technology, a DC-based magazine focused on government information technology companies, compiled a list of all government services-related M&A transactions in 2005 and also asked a panel of corporate finance experts to choose the 10 deals with the greatest industry impact. Venable worked on three of these, all of them for Washington-area businesses:
The firm represented Alion Science and Technology Corporation, a McLean, VA-based technology solutions company that works with the Department of Defense and civilian government agencies and commercial customers, in its acquisitions of Carmel Applied Technologies, Inc. (CATI) and ManTech Environmental Technology, Inc. (METI) in February 2005. According to Washington Technology, which grouped the CATI and METI acquisitions together with Alion’s acquisition of John J. McMullen Associates, Inc. in April 2005 as a single “deal” on its Big Impact list, these transactions prove that Alion is “quickly establishing itself as a strong mid-tier player with a growing base of defense and civilian customers.”
In another Top 10 deal, Venable represented Galaxy Scientific Corporation in its sale to Fairfax, VA IT firm SRA International, Inc. Galaxy provides systems engineering, IT and tactical communication services for companies and government entities. Its sale to SRA in July 2005 was grouped together by Washington Technology with SRA’s acquisitions of Touchstone Consulting Group, Inc. in April 2005 and Spectrum Solutions Group, Inc. in November 2005.
Finally, the practice group represented Vienna, VA-based federal IT services provider INDUS Corporation in two major transactions grouped together as one of Washington Technology’s Top 10: INDUS’s acquisition of the Secure Network Services business of Halifax Corporation, and its acquisition of Aaron B. Floyd Enterprises, Inc. The two deals vaulted INDUSinto the $100 million annual revenue mark, prompting Washington Technology’s editors to observe that INDUS “wants to be part of the new generation of consolidators.”
Venable created its Government Contractor Services Group in order to provide existing and new government services clients with a broad range of counsel across at least 17 different legal disciplines. The practice advises on everything from procurement and bid protests to litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and the Davis-Bacon Act. On the corporate side, the group has been active in a number of complex transactions impacting the federal government marketplace, including deals involving both privately held and publicly traded companies.
Other significant M&A transactions involving the Government Contractor Services Group in the past year include:
- Anteon International Corporation’s (NYSE: ANT) acquisition of Milestone Group, L.L.C.
- Performance Management Consulting, Inc.’s sale to OPTIMUS Corporation
- Science Applications International Corporation’s (SAIC) acquisition of the assets of IMAPS, LLC
- UTD, Inc.’s sale to Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN)
- Perot Systems Corporation’s (NYSE: PER) acquisition of PrSM Corporation (through its subsidiary Perot Systems Government Services, Inc.)
- SafeNet, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: SFNT) acquisition of MediaSentry Inc.
- ManTech International Corp.’s (Nasdaq: MANT) acquisition of Gray Hawk Systems, Inc.
- Optelecom, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: OPTC) acquisition of NKF Electronics B.V.
- VistaRMS, Inc.’s sale of its assets to Kforce Inc. (Nasdaq: KFRC)
- Social & Scientific Systems, Inc.’s acquisition of CODA Research, Inc.
One of the American Lawyer’s top 100 law firms, Venable LLP has attorneys practicing in all areas of corporate and business law, complex litigation, intellectual property and government affairs. Venable serves corporate, institutional, governmental, nonprofit and individual clients throughout the U.S. and around the world from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and offices in California, Maryland, New York and Virginia.