Enlightenment acquires Trowbridge & Trowbridge

Government market investment firm Enlightenment Capital said Monday it has acquired federal IT contractor Trowbridge & Trowbridge to add another platform into the portfolio.

Trowbridge & Trowbridge’s services to federal agencies include cloud engineering, cybersecurity, IT engineering, application development and network engineering -- all areas that touch on technology modernization.

Enlightenment Capital was more known for acquiring partial ownership stakes in middle market aerospace, defense and government services companies but has started to go down the route of full acquisitions.

The firm formed intelligence community IT contractor EverWatch Solutions late last year and subsequently hired market veteran John Hillen as CEO earlier this year. EverWatch has made two acquisitions as an Enlightenment portfolio company.

Like EverWatch, leadership at Enlightenment views their initial investment in Trowbridge & TrowBridge as only step one in the process.

“Trowbridge will serve as the initial investment of a new Enlightenment platform, which will provide innovative solutions to government agencies seeking to modernize their IT systems and operations,” Enlightenment Managing Partner Devin Talbott said in a release.

“We plan to continue to invest in the platform to drive growth -- both organically and through M&A,” said Jason Rigoli, a partner at Enlightenment.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed but it does kick off a transition at the top for Trowbridge & Trowbridge.

Chief Operating Officer Cass Panciocco has been promoted to president and CEO, while founder and now-former chief executive Karen Trowbridge will stay on the board of directors as a shareholder and adviser.

Investment bank The McLean Group advised Trowbridge & Trowbridge on the transaction.