From ransomware attacks to infrastructure intrusions, malicious actors are turning the digital world into an increasingly hazardous place as they cause greater levels of damage and disruption to public and private sector organizations. The rise of new and more complex threats has turned the cybersecurity industry into a ripe environment for investors and companies in search of acquisitions. As part of its own strategy to invest nearly $4 billion on acquisitions through 2025, consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton recently declared its intention to make EverWatch a wholly owned subsidiary in a deal slated to close at the end of the first quarter of FY2023.
EverWatch is a Reston, VA-based government services company specializing in software development and architecture in cloud, analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, as well as technological signals intelligence (TechSIGINT). The company was founded in 2018 by private equity firm Enlightenment Capital as an intelligence contractor, employing 500 employees and making seven acquisitions as it executed a strategy to become a highly desirable mid-sized prime contractor focused on the success of critical missions across the defense and intelligence sectors.
Booz Allen has been prioritizing strategic acquisitions since 2021, having purchased digital forensics and incident response firm Trace Point and Salesforce government cloud partner Liberty IT Solutions in 2021 for undisclosed sums. The firm is likely to continue to pursue technology and cybersecurity consultancies as it continues to grow its presence in the sectors.
“U.S. national and economic security depends on secure, trusted, and resilient technology, and in the most dynamic threat landscape of our time, delivering advanced solutions with speed and agility is essential for mission success,” said Booz Allen National Security Sector President Judi Dotson, in a prepared statement. “Combining (our) mission experience and advanced technologies with EverWatch’s classified software development and analytics capabilities will help implement faster and more comprehensive solution delivery to help defense and intelligence agencies transform and stay ahead of threats.”
With international tensions continuing to simmer, it is likely that cyber threats, especially those perpetrated by state-sponsored malicious actors, will continue to be a major concern for businesses and government bodies for the foreseeable future. The cyber industry should prove to be a fertile market for both investors and companies seeking to boost their portfolios through acquisitions.
