TASC builds portfolio with first acquisition

TASC Inc. has made a cloud solutions provider its first acquisition since being spun out of Northrop Grumman Corp. in 2009.

The deal for TexelTek expands TASC’s capabilities in cloud computing, network consolidation and virtualization, data analytics, and cybersecurity, TASC officials said in a statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition closed June 2 and TASC is picking up 125 employees, a majority of whom have security clearances, Al Pisani, senior vice president for intelligence operations at TASC, told Washington Technology.

TexelTek’s approach to the market is similar to TASC in that it has a deep knowledge of its customers and is very dedicated to its customer’s mission, Pisani said. Most of TexelTek’s customers are based at Fort Meade, near its headquarters at Annapolis Junction, Md., and are in the intelligence and defense communities.

The kind of services TexelTek provides also fits well with TASC in that the company provides analysis and advisory services as well as prototypes for new solutions, he said.

For example, if an agency wants to move to a cloud computing environment, TexelTek would help it think through that process and identify and address the implications of that move, Pisani said.

“TexelTek will strengthen TASC’s ability to deliver high demand capabilities and sophisticated thinking to its U.S. government customers across the country,” said David Langstaff, president and CEO of TASC, in a statement.

For TexelTek, the acquisition is an opportunity to increase the support it can provide customers because it will be able to bring TASC expertise in technical and advisory services to its customers, said Mark Ross, president and CEO of TexelTek.

Aronson Capital Partners was an advisor to TexelTek in the transaction.

The acquisition brings some new skills to TASC, particularly in the cloud computing areas, and also bolsters its portfolio in areas it is already working such as information assurance and converged networks, Pisani said.

While the customer sets as similar, he said that the TexelTek acquisition also will help TASC move into new markets on the civilian side of the government.

“Everyone is wrestling with converged networks and gaining efficiencies and saving dollars," he said. "That’s across the board,” he said.