Arlington Capital Partners has agreed to sell Polaris Alpha, a provider of technical services to companies and governments active in defense, intelligence, and security, to Parsons Corporation.
Polaris Alpha provides technical capabilities, specialized domain expertise and mission-critical services to the Department of Defense and the intelligence community. The company has approximately 1,300 employees with nearly 90% maintaining security clearances. Polaris Alpha, with annual revenues of approximately $250 million, has offices in Colorado Springs, CO; Columbia, MD; Aberdeen, MD; and Fredericksburg, VA; with additional offices, research and development facilities, and on-site customer operations in several other states and the United Kingdom. Polaris Alpha is led by CEO Peter Cannito (www.polarisalpha.com).
Polaris Alpha was formed through Arlington Capital’s merger of EOIR Technologies, Intelligent Software Solutions, and Proteus Technologies. EOIR Technologies, a Fredericksburg, VA-based provider of technology services to the Department of Defense and the intelligence community, was acquired by Arlington Capital in June 2016. In November 2016, Arlington Capital acquired Colorado Springs, CO-based Intelligent Software Solutions (ISS), a provider of data analysis services; and Annapolis Junction, MD-based PROTEUS Technologies, a provider of cyber and analytic engineering services. In June 2016 all three businesses – EOIR, ISS and Proteus – were merged to form Polaris Alpha.
Since its formation, Polaris Alpha has completed three add-on acquisitions. In January 2017, Polaris Alpha acquired Elkridge, MD-based Intelesys, a provider of computer network operations and cyber services to the intelligence community; in September 2017 it acquired Denver, CO-based Solidyn, a provider of satellite mission management, command and control systems, virtualization and cloud computing services to the Department of Defense and the intelligence community; and in April 2018 it acquired Columbia, MD-based Fourth Dimension Engineering, a provider of electrical and mechanical design & development, custom wireless services and embedded software and hardware development.
“Polaris Alpha has grown rapidly both organically and through strategic acquisitions to become a recognized leader in the space and cyber domains,” said Michael Lustbader, a Managing Partner at Arlington Capital. “The strength of the Polaris Alpha management team has enabled the company to combine leading technical capabilities with a deep understanding of its customers’ missions while establishing a strong, unified culture. We are excited to watch many of our key technology and infrastructure investments continue to pay dividends under Parsons’ leadership.”
Parsons Corporation provides engineering, construction, technical, and professional services to federal, regional, and local government agencies as well as to private industrial customers. The company was founded in 1944 by engineer Ralph Parsons and is headquartered in Pasadena, CA (www.parsons.com).
“The acquisition of Polaris Alpha is the latest transformative move for Parsons that takes our technology solutions strategy to a new level with customers needing advanced solutions to rapidly-evolving threats,” said Chuck Harrington, Parsons’ Chairman and CEO. “With the integration of Polaris Alpha into Parsons, we enhance our proven artificial intelligence and data analytics expertise with new technologies and solutions, the demand for which is growing exponentially.”
Polaris Alpha will become part of Parsons’ Federal business unit, led by its president Carey Smith. Parsons’ existing artificial intelligence, signals intelligence, and data analytics services that support defensive and offensive cybersecurity missions will be expanded by the integration of Polaris Alpha’s machine learning, data, video, multi-source analytics and automated reasoning technologies. Polaris Alpha’s portfolio of electromagnetic warfare, signals intelligence, space situational awareness, and multi-domain command and control technologies will significantly increase the scale and scope of Parsons’ capabilities and customer relationships.
Arlington, the seller of Polaris Alpha, invests in buyouts and recapitalizations of companies valued from $50 million to $500 million. Sectors of interest include government services and technology; aerospace and defense; healthcare; and business services and software. Arlington is investing out of its fourth fund which closed in July 2016 with $700 million of capital. The firm is based in Chevy Chase, MD (www.arlingtoncap.com).
Baird was the financial advisor to Parsons on this transaction.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | May 22, 2018
