ECS' latest acquisition seeks greater geospatial presence

ASGN, the parent company of federal technology contractor ECS, has acquired Skyris to gain more of a foothold in geospatial-focused programs that involve remote sensing and data science.

Terms of the transaction announced Thursday were undisclosed. ASGN said Skyris will become part of ECS’ mission solutions business unit that focuses on technically complex programs with defense and intelligence agencies, plus selected civilian customers.

Fredericksburg, Virginia-based Skyris was founded in 2010 and holds prime positions on contract vehicles with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency such as Multi-Intelligence Analytical Collection Support Services.

Skyris touts its focus on open source intelligence and data analytics solutions, plus having a proprietary data-as-a-service offering to help speed up the collection and analysis of that intelligence data at significant scale.

"The demands and data requirements of the intelligence community continue to accelerate. As a result, the need for cleared remote sensing and data-science-related expertise outweighs the available workforce," ECS President George Wilson said in a release. "Skyris is meeting and exceeding the mission needs of its customers. We look forward to supporting Skyris’ current contracts as well as accelerating our growth together.”

Acquired itself by ASGN in 2018, ECS has since used that backing to close two acquisitions and pursue organic growth in a push to reach $1 billion in annual revenue by 2021.

Chertoff Capital served as the investment banking adviser to Skyris, while Greenberg Traurig was legal counsel. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as legal counsel to ASGN.