BAE climbs IT ladder with DigitalNet purchase

The Washington Technology Top 100 list of federal prime IT contractors may have a new name in the Top 10 in 2005.

BAE Systems North America Inc., the No. 12 company on the Top 100 in 2004, is buying DigitalNet Holdings Inc., Herndon, Va., for about $600 million, including DigitalNet's $93.25 million debt, executives from both companies said Sept. 11. DigitalNet was ranked No. 34.

Combined, the two companies showed $1.11 billion in federal prime contract revenue for fiscal 2003. The DigitalNet acquisition could put BAE into the top 10 on the Top 100 list.

BAE Systems North America in Rockville, Md., is a wholly owned subsidiary of BAE Systems plc of Hampshire, United Kingdom.