Britain’s QinetiQ this week said it has agreed to acquire two Australian defence consulting firms for $17.7 million in cash, marking the company’s first investment in that country as part of its growth plans in Europe, the Middle East and Australasia.
QinetiQ is acquiring Ball Solutions Group, a subsidiary of United States-based Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. [BLL], for $10.5 million in cash. Ball Solutions has three core business areas–business systems and applications, data acquisition and management, and operations research and analysis–primarily serving the Australian Defence Department.
Ball Solutions employs about 150 people primarily in 10 locations in Australia and has annual sales of about $25 million. Ball said that since most of its business is in the United States, that’s where it wants to focus its growth.
QinetiQ is also acquiring Novare Services Pty Ltd,, which provides engineering and logistics services to the Australian Department of Defence, prime contractors and selected commercial partners. Novare has 35 employees and annual sales of $5.4 million. Novare’s management will remain with the company. Novare’s core expertise is in explosive ordnance and weapons, aerospace systems, advanced technical data management and performance based contracting.
QinetiQ said the deals will give it a strong regional presence in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide. Once the deals close, which is expected by the end of February, the companies will operate as QinetiQ Consulting Pty Ltd.
“These acquisitions reflect our confidence in the strength of the Australian defence market and will establish QinetiQ as a leading provider of independent advice services within the country,” Graham Love, group CEO of QinetiQ, said in a statement. “We will also be seeking to leverage synergies between these companies and our businesses in the United Kingdom and U.S. to provide additional benefits to our Australian customers.”