Wyle enters IT market with RSIS buy

A new player has emergedin the government market,while an established companyloses its independent status.Wyle Inc. of El Segundo,Calif., is buying RS InformationSystems Inc., one of the moresuccessful companies toemerge from governmentsmall-business programs.Terms of the deal were not disclosed,but McLean, Va.-basedRSIS had $330 million in2006 revenue from more than100 prime contracts withdefense, civilian and lawenforcement agencies. RSISalso has 1,400 employees.The acquisition, when itcloses early next year, willpush Wyle to $800 million inannual revenue and 4,200employees, the company said.RSIS has often been cited asa model for small businesses.It was founded in 1992 byRodney Hunt, who led thecompany through the 8(a)program and established it asa stable midtier company.RSIS was ranked No. 49 onthe Washington Technology2007 Top 100 rankings.The company now willbecome Wyle's fourth strategicbusiness unit, joining theAerospace Group; LifeSciences Group; and Test,Engineering and ResearchGroup. The investment bankStifel, Nicolaus and Co.was the financial adviser toRSIS."This acquisition will enableWyle to significantly broadenits presence in the informationtechnology services sectorand add key new contractsand customers that will complementour current clientbase," said George Melton,Wyle's chairman, chief executiveofficer and president.Wyle is a portfolio companyof Littlejohn and Co., a privateequity firm based in Greenwich,Conn.