Qualys reaches initial deal to acquire Second Front

Silicon Valley cloud computing company Qualys has entered a non-binding agreement to acquire Arlington, Virginia-based IT consulting firm Second Front Systems to further build domain expertise in the federal marketplace.

Terms of the transaction were undisclosed and both parties will need to enter definitive agreements before they can proceed on the deal. Qualys said Monday it could close the transaction in either the third or fourth quarter of this year pending those agreements being reached, regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

Second Front Systems would operate as an independent subsidiary within Qualys’ federal division, which is seeking to increase its footprint with agencies in the defense, intelligence and law enforcement communities.

Second Front advises other technology companies that want to offer their product or other service to national security agencies. They are in Qualys’ channel partner network to deliver services to federal agencies that use the Qualys Gov Platform.

Government-backed organizations such as In-Q-Tel and the Army Venture Capital Initiative have made investments in Second Front, which partners with other venture-backed commercial companies.