QinetiQ Group plc announced a definitive merger agreement to acquire the American high-tech professional services firm Analex Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, QinetiQ offers to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Analex for $3.70 per share, or an aggregate equity price of approximately $173 million paid in cash. QinetiQis a recently-privatized branch of the British government, though the government still owns about 19% of the firm. Its most high-profile US acquisition to date remains its purchase of Foster-Miller, whose TALON MTRS robots are playing a growing role in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, with 11 locations around the US, Analex is listed on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), has over 1,000 employees, and specialises in providing innovative information technology, aerospace engineering and security, and intelligence support services for defence, intelligence and space programmes. Principal customers include the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), US Army, US Navy, DARPA, NASA, and various intelligence agencies – over half of its workforce is in the Washington DC area. Analex had revenues of $150.3 million, EBITDA of $14.5 million, and a total contract backlog of $413.0 million ($56.0 million funded). Contracts are reportedly a 60:40 mix of firm-fixed-price and/or time-and-materials versus cost reimbursement contracts. For additional details, see QinetiQ release | Analex release.
