BlueHalo, a defense technology company that has been landing many federal government and military contracts in recent years, announced it is planning to acquire Eqlipse Technologies, a fellow supplier to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the intelligence community.
The deal may not come as too much of a surprise given that both BlueHalo and Eqlipse are members of the Arlington Capital Partners, and also given that BlueHalo has acquired at least four other defense technology companies over the last three years.
The recent acquisition spree has netted BlueHalo the following firms and technologies:
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Eclipse Technologies, February 2024, cyber and signals intelligence (SIGINT) engineering, Electronic Warfare (EW), digital operations and identIty management
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Ipsolon Research, November 2023, software-defined radios
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Verus Technology Group, April 2023, counter-unmanned aerial system (counter-UAS or c-UAS)
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Asymmetrik, November 2021, cyber and SIGINT
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Citadel Defense, November 2021, counter-UAS
These moves have come as technologies like counter-UAS (also referred to as counter-drone defense), software-defined radios, cybersecurity software, and more have become subjects of growing interest among governments and military agencies around the world. BlueHalo has won its share of these projects, including a contract for the U.S. Space Force’s recent $1.4 billion Satellite Communication Augmentation Resource (SCAR) program, a $27 million deal from the DoD for the Titan counter-UAS project, as well as multiple awards from the Air Force Research Laboratory and others.
As for the Eqlipse acquisition, BlueHalo did not disclose financial terms, but said the combined entity will have a total employee count of nearly 2,400 people across 11 states, and annual revenue “approaching” $1 billion. The transaction is expected to close during the current quarter. BlueHalo CEO Jonathan Moneymaker will lead the combined company.
“The only constant in global defense is the certainty that threats will continue to evolve, new
battlefields will emerge, and the landscape will change,” said Moneymaker. “Combining BlueHalo and Eqlipse–both with a shared passion for pairing innovative technology with customer intimacy–creates an enhanced organization with the proven ability to deliver on some of the most complex and challenging problems our customers face in these uncertain times. This acquisition squarely catapults us to the forefront of the industry, providing additional size and scale, and solidifying the company’s position as the top alternative to the largest government contractors. It furthers our ability to drive unbridled, rapid prototyping and innovative work our customers have come to rely on without the bureaucratic obstacles, which typically slow development and inflate budgets.”
David Wodlinger, a Managing Partner at Arlington Capital Partners, added “Unifying BlueHalo and Eqlipse’s capabilities will accelerate our development of new technologies for our defense and intelligence customers to a pace that others cannot match. The strategic combination of
BlueHalo and Eqlipse creates a scale of innovaSon that establishes the combined company as one of the preeminent defense technology platforms in the industry.”