Leidos closes deal for naval design firm

Leidos has closed its $380 million deal to acquire the naval architecture and vessel design firm Gibbs & Cox.

The company will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos and is now part of Leidos’ maritime systems division.

The acquisition adds naval architects, designers, engineers and program managers to Leidos. In total, 525 new employees are joining the company.

The deal was triggered in part when Leidos lost a competition for the Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle prototyping contract. L3Harris won the contract over four competitors including Leidos.

The company realized it had more to learn about naval architecture and ship design, which drew them to pursue the acquisition of Gibbs & Cox, Leidos CEO Roger Krone said during a February investor call.

“Gibbs & Cox is widely regarded for developing the most talented and experienced naval designers in the world. We look forward to this new era of innovation while combining the best of both companies,” Krone said with the deals close last week.