SPA gains Army presence via acquisition

Systems Planning & Analysis has acquired a fellow provider of engineering services in a move aimed at establishing prime positions in market domains such as missiles, space and aviation.

Intrepid opened for business in 2002 and touts a history of work with agencies such as the Air Force, Army and Missile Defense Agency. For example, Intrepid is the primary contractor for systems engineering and technical assistance work in support of the Army’s Integrated Battle Command System program.

SPA adds that contract via this transaction announced Wednesday, of which the financial terms were not disclosed. The Army uses ICBS to bring data from different systems into a single picture for operators in command-and-control missions.

“This acquisition marks an important milestone in our strategic growth, broadening our client base to include a substantial presence in the U.S. Army in addition to our already substantial presence in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, and intelligence community,” SPA’s chief executive Rich Sawchak said in a release Wednesday.

Huntsville, Alabama-headquartered Intrepid also supports the Army’s general presence across the Indo-Pacific region and overall enterprise modernization efforts.

Intrepid has recorded approximately $183.9 million in unclassified prime revenue over the trailing 12 months with 97.5% of that spend from the Army and remainder at MDA and the Air Force, according to USASpending.gov. SPA's unclassified prime revenue figure over that timeframe amounts to roughly $210.2 million with 74% of that from the Navy.

Houlihan Lokey worked as financial adviser to Intrepid, whose legal counsel was Maynard Nexsen. Sheppard Mullin and Morrison Foerster acted as legal counsel to SPA.

For SPA, this move represents its second acquisition announcement in March following its purchase of the Australia-headquartered government services company Proximity.

SPA has been owned by the private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners since the fall of 2021 and completed a handful of acquisitions over the past three-and-a-half years, including the Intrepid and Proximity buys.

Following the purchases of parts of ManTech’s technical advisory business, SPA touted a workforce of approximately 2,000 employees and pro forma annual revenue of around $600 million.