Accenture to acquire Defence Consulting firm
Date: 19-11-2007
Source: Consulting News
Accenture has agreed to acquire MAXIM Systems, Inc., an employee-owned defence consulting firm that provides advanced engineering and technical services in the areas of command and control, multi-level security and satellite communications. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
MAXIM, based in San Diego, Calif., designs, develops, installs and supports systems for C4ISR, which stands for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, for military and intelligence agencies. C4ISR systems are used in battlefield activities such as joint command and control, which is the directing of necessary personnel and equipment to accomplish missions.
The acquisition will further expand Accenture's defence practice in the US military market for command and control systems, which use data collection, processing and analysis to help military commanders maintain situational awareness on the battlefield, examine options in real-time, and implement their courses of action.
Once the acquisition has closed, MAXIM's approximately 135 employees are expected to join Accenture, with its CEO, Jim Wangler, serving in a leadership role with Accenture's Public Service operating group, as part of Accenture National Security Services LLC.
"MAXIM Systems possesses unique capabilities in C4ISR that will further enhance our existing defence industry capabilities," said Eric Stange, managing director of Accenture's US Defence practice. "Along with our other recent acquisitions of the George Group and Gestalt, this acquisition will enable Accenture to penetrate deeper into C4ISR, a key strategic growth area. Our vision is to provide new levels of service and leading-edge practices that support our defence clients in the mission space and help them to achieve high performance."
MAXIM offers a wide range of services and capabilities to its US Department of Defence clients. For the US Navy, MAXIM delivers space and communications systems that support Ultra High Frequency (UHF) satellite programs. MAXIM also supports the Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System (CENTRIXS), a secure wide area network that allows the United States and more than 30 coalition nations to share intelligence and other operational information necessary to unify efforts.
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in approximately 30 days.
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