Oceus changes ownership hands, Antle named exec chair

Mobile technology integrator Oceus Networks has changed hands from one private equity firm to another and brought onboard a three-decade federal market veteran as executive chairman.

Battle Investment Group said Tuesday it acquired Reston, Virginia-based Oceus for an undisclosed sum and former Salient CRGT CEO Brad Antle was appointed executive chairman of the board of directors. Chief Operating Officer Jeff Harman will transition to the role of president, which puts him as the company’s lead executive.

Harman served in the COO for seven years, while Antle was CEO of Salent CRGT from its launch in 2015 until 2018 and led one of the two predecessor companies in Salient that formed the combined company. More recently, Antle provided consulting services to government contractors and private equity firms as head of his own firm.

Oceus will get an infusion of additional capital to support its strategy of providing secure and reliable mobile communications to users in remote or other challenging environments. That includes helping stand up 5G network systems for defense and civilian agencies.

Formerly the federal arm of Ericsson, Oceus was acquired in 2011 by its now-former private equity owner Tailwind Capital. That deal also gave Oceus the exclusive right to sell Ericsson’s technology in the federal marketplace.

Former Oceus CEO Randy Fuerst has left the company, which he led since 2014, and has set up his consulting business, the Fuerst Group, according to his LinkedIn page.