ManTech divests cyber business ... sort of

ManTech International has sold its commercial cyber business to CounterTack but it is investing there at the same time.

ManTech International is divesting its commercial cyber business but it’s investing there at the same time.

The company is selling ManTech Cyber Solutions International to CounterTack but at the same time the company is making an equity investment in CounterTack. ManTech also will become a global distribution partner of CountTack’s products.

The terms of the sale and the value of the investment have not been disclosed. L. William Varner, president of ManTech Mission, Cyber and Intelligence Solutions Group, will join CounterTack’s board as a board observer.

CounterTack is based in Waltham, Mass., and provides big data endpoint detection and response technologies and solutions. Some of its current investors include Goldman Sachs, Siemens, Alcatel-Lucent, Fairhaven Capital, the Razor’s Edge and OnPoint Technologies.

The sale by ManTech is reminiscent of General Dynamics divestiture of Fidelis earlier this year. Fidelis was a commercial cyber business that GD acquired in 2012. They sold the company in April as part of a portfolio shaping move.

ManTech created up its commercial cyber business in February 2012 when it acquired HBGary Inc. The business developed products to detect, analyze and diagnose advanced persistent threats and targeted malware.

With the structure of the sale to CounterTack, ManTech will continue to have close relationship with the business and have access to its products.

The sale will allow each business to focus on what it does best. For CounterTack that means developing commercial cyber products and for ManTech it means focusing on cyber services.

ManTech recently acquired Knowledge Consulting Group, which added more cyber consulting capabilities to the company.