System High buys piece of Booz Allen's MDA business

Enlightenment Capital-backed System High adds to its platform through the acquisition of a portion of Booz Allen Hamilton's business that works with the Missile Defense Agency.

System High Corp., a mid-tier government IT company backed by Enlightenment Capital, has acquired a business unit from Booz Allen Hamilton that provides professional services to the Missile Defense Agency.

Terms of the transaction announced Monday were not disclosed. The deal includes Booz Allen’s portfolio of contracts through MDA’s TEAMS initiative -- Technical, Engineering, Advisory, and Management Support.

Around 110 employees based in Huntsville, Alabama (where MDA is headquartered) will join System High. They provide protection solutions for information and assets of national security agencies.

“This is just one of the initiatives being executed to expand our impact to preserve national security, and MDA success is critical for sustaining this objective,” System High CEO Rob Howe said in a release.

Chantilly, Virginia-based System High has been a subcontractor in the past to Booz Allen on programs with the MDA such as those involving research, development and acquisition. For its part, Booz Allen is not exiting all of its MDA business or the Huntsville region.

“Our business strategy remains focused on staying close to client missions while expanding our solution offerings to help clients like MDA solve the strategic and sophisticated technical challenges their missions face,” said Lincoln Hudson, a Booz Allen senior vice president. “We remain fully committed to MDA’s mission and to Huntsville, where we will continue to hire and develop talent, invest in cutting-edge innovation, and deliver high-end technology services.

Enlightenment Capital, the government market investment firm, announced its backing of System High in early 2019 to help the company through its next phase of growth.