By Calvin Biesecker
ICF International [ICFI] yesterday said it has agreed to acquire Jacob & Sundstrom, Inc. (J&S), a small information technology firm that provides cyber security and identity management services to defense and federal civilian agencies.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. ICF said it would pay cash for Maryland-based J&S, which is expected to generate about $24 million in sales this year. ICF said the deal would be accretive to earnings beginning in the first quarter of 2010.
While ICF has core expertise in IT solutions, the company has been looking to expand its capabilities in cyber security, an area in which it currently has limited capabilities. The transaction will provide ICF with more “scale and expertise” in cyber security and identity management, a company spokesman told Defense Daily.
“By combining its cyber security capabilities with our energy industry reliability and smart grid applications, program management, incident response, and risk assessment consulting services, we can now offer an expanded range of advisory and implementation solutions across our federal and energy industry client base, which understands the importance of mitigating emerging cyber security threats and vulnerabilities,” Sudhakar Kesavan, chairman and CEO of ICF, said in a statement.
J&S’ four biggest customers are the Army Research Laboratory, the Defense Department’s Defense Security Service, the Social Security Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. Most of ICF’s business is with federal civilian agencies, a market the company believes trails the Defense Department in countering cyber threats.
ICF believes it can leverage J&S’ cyber security capabilities into its existing customer base in the federal civilian space as well as into the utility sector, the spokesman said. The energy industry, in particular the utility sector, accounts for about 20 percent of ICF’s business.
“There are opportunities for cyber security for transmission and smart grids,” the spokesman said.
J&S is one of the first companies awarded a General Services Administration schedule contract to provide integration services for HSPD-12, which directs the standardization of identity management for all federal employees and contractors.
Houlihan Lokey is the financial adviser for J&S, which has 160 employees.