Another government contracting player announced its move in the acquisition arena this week, an event that could further signal how the GovCon sector’s consolidation trend will shape itself this year.

Reston, Va.-based Maximus said it would acquire technology and management services contractor Acentia for $300 million in a deal that will add nearly 1,000 employees and up to $110 million in fiscal year 2015 revenue for Maximus.

“Acentia introduces new contract vehicles and capabilities that complement our existing business process management offerings and capabilities for government markets,” said Richard Montoni, Maximus CEO.

Maximus expects to complete the purchase in its fiscal 2015 third quarter, which starts April 1 and ends June 30.

The GovCon industry has already two of its largest-ever consolidations take place within the first three months of 2015: Engility’s $1.1 billion acquisition of TASC and the merger of Orbital Sciences with ATK.

Bill Lynn, a former deputy defense secretary and current CEO of DRS Technologies, said in a July 2014 op-ed the Pentagon should allow such consolidation and believes this would help companies focus more resources on technology development.

“While some fear that deeper consolidation may reduce competition, such concerns could be alleviated if the Pentagon actively expands its supplier base to more commercial and international companies,” Lynn wrote.
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The Potomac Officers Club will turn its attention on March 19 to the cybersecurity arena with “2015 Cyber Security Summit,” a half-day forum for government and business leaders to interact and exchange ideas for how to protect information systems.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe will deliver the keynote address to the GovCon and public sector executive audience at this interactive event for leaders to discuss items such as trade secret and information defense.
Public-private partnerships and policies at the federal and subordinate levels of government are also on the agenda for discussion at the summit.

Additional speakers scheduled to appear include:

• Steve Chabinsky, former deputy assistant director for cyber at the FBI
• Joe Demarest, assistant director of the FBI’s cyber division
• Curtis Dukes, director of information assurance at NSA
• Bill Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center
• Matt Kemelhar, a principal consultant at Microsoft
• Phil Lacombe, VP & manager of Parsons’ information systems and security sector
• Tim McMillan, a director at Siemens Government Technologies
• Tony Sager, chief technologist at the Center for Internet Security
• Ari Schwartz, senior director for cyber programs for the National Security Council
• Steve Shirley, executive director of the Defense Cyber Crime Center
• Chris Smith, VP of technology for AT&T’s government solutions businessn
• Mark Weatherford, former deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity at DHS

Click here to register for this event and learn more about POC’s other upcoming events.