Cogent Systems [COGT] has acquired the Security Solutions Division of MAXIMUS [MMS] for $5 million in cash, in a deal that will help move it beyond its base of fingerprint software search and matching products into the broader identity management solutions space. Cogent expects the deal to add $5 million to its sales this year. The Security Solutions Division provides identity management and credentialing integration services, security consulting, and custom web application development, including logical and physical access integration with Defense Department Common Access Cards and Personal Identity Verification Cards. “With more HSPD-12 cards produced for federal customers than any other integrator, they have the potential to continue to grow by helping agencies comply with this directive,” says Ming Hsieh, Cogent’s president and CEO. He says the deal will add about 40 employees to Cogent. Hsieh says that Cogent will continue to mainly focus on internal development to diversify its revenue stream but will remain opportunistic when it comes to acquisitions. Stanford Group analyst Jeremy Grant, who worked for MAXIMUS for five years before joining Stanford in 2006 as an investment analyst, believes the acquisition is a “nice complement to Cogent.” On the plus side, Grant likes the product and solutions expansion beyond fingerprint technology for Cogent, and praises the MAXIMUS division for its “solid expertise” in areas such as smart cards, public key infrastructure, biometrics and cybersecurity. On the downside, Grant says the deal could shrink Cogent’s profit margins and cautions that most of the leadership that built the security division at MAXIMUS has left and that the business base has shrunk. Still, the acquisition price is fair and is a nice add for Cogent, he says.