Ireland Degges
KBR has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase LinQuest Corporation – a company focused on engineering, data analytics and digital integration – for $737 million.
Baird served as the exclusive financial advisor for the deal, through which KBR intends to unlock new opportunities for revenue growth and meet the needs of clients and the wider government contracting market, the latter said Tuesday.
John Song, managing director of Baird’s Global Investment Banking Group and co-head of the firm’s Defense & Government Investment Banking practice, said the “strategic compatibility between LinQuest and KBR was clear from the very first meeting.”
“Both companies have a tremendous footprint across the national security space, especially within the space domain, and both companies have a strong commitment to providing leading edge capabilities to the warfighter,” Song, a previous Wash100 Award winner, told ExecutiveBiz.
LinQuest’s specialties include artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the company primarily works with the U.S. Space Force, Air Force and other Department of Defense and intelligence agencies. The majority of its employees hold security clearances, a factor KBR expects to elevate its work with federal customers.
The acquisition was unanimously approved by KBR’s Board of Directors and is predicted to be accretive to adjusted EPS, which does not include amortization from purchased intangible assets and non-recurring transaction costs.
To finance the purchase, KBR will use both cash and existing debt capacity. The deal is expected to close in quarter three or quarter four of this year.
