WT 360: The market from all angles

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Inside today's stellar M&A market May 12, 2021

Show notes

The last two years have seen a significant increase in the number of mergers and acquisitions taking place in the government market. Editor Nick Wakeman and Jean Stack of the investment bank Baird discuss what’s driving the deals and why the rampant pace is likely to continue.

Stack is the co-manager of Baird's government and defense practice. She has a long history of helping buyers and sellers make their deals happen, and has an understanding what those transactions mean.

In this episode, she says why the strong volume of activity will continue and how not everyone should be a seller.

Why a whole lotta data is only part of the equation May 07, 2021

Show notes

It goes without saying that data is a buzzword all on its own even when disregarding other popular catchphrases that surround it these days.

For this episode of Project 38, Qlik Federal’s leader Andrew Churchill describes to our Ross Wilkers how the conversation across the public sector ecosystem stretches beyond just knowing there’s too much data in the world to work with.

That especially holds true for the federal government, which has specific methods that many of its agencies are legally required to use in storing their data. Churchill explains that data literacy and other new practices related to talent development are just as important in that equation as the technologies, namely cloud hosting.

How the way you think puts you at risk of Black Swans and Gray Rhinos May 04, 2021

Show notes

Steve Kelman, who led the Office of Federal Procurement Policy during the Clinton Administration and is a current professor at the Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, has a reputation as a big thinker about management and government and why things work the way they do.

In this conversation with Editor Nick Wakeman, Kelman shares his thoughts about Black Swans and Gray Rhinos -- those often traumatic events that we either didn’t see coming or we knew could happen but we failed to prepare for.

Critical to that preparation is cultivating the ability to break away from your standard ways of thinking and not falling into the trap of doing things in certain ways because that is how they have always been done. Status quo thinking is often what leaves us vulnerable when disaster inevitably strikes.

Reporters Roundup: Biden's address, JEDI and DISA in the news Apr 29, 2021

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Washington Technology and FCW staffers offer their early views on President Biden’s address to Congress where he proposed trillions in spending to create jobs and address myriad issues around climate change, national security and the nation’s infrastructure.

That wasn’t the only big news to hit this week. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that Amazon’s challenge of the JEDI cloud award to rival Microsoft can continue. FCW also published a special report highlighting the trends driving activity at the Defense Information Systems Agency, one of the larger IT buyers in the federal market.

Washington Technology Editor Nick Wakeman and Senior Staff Writer Ross Wilkers are joined by FCW Executive Editor Adam Mazmanian and Senior Editor Lauren Williams discuss what these events mean and what’s coming next, including some topics that aren’t getting as much attention.

Can agencies force contractors to get vaccinated? Apr 19, 2021

Show notes

COVID-19 vaccinations are rolling out across the country and as that happens, federal agencies and many of their contractors are encouraging their employees to get inoculated.

But can agencies require contractor employees to get vaccinated and how can they formalize that requirement? We get some answers in this episode from Al Krachman and Brooke Iley, partners at law firm Blank Rome who specialize in government contracts and labor who wrote this article on what such a requirement could look like.

Much is still TBD, but Krachman and Iley told Washington Technology Senior Staff Writer Ross Wilkers that there is some precedence for such a requirement and an emerging view across industry that it will happen for COVID-19 vaccinations. Their advice is to both not be surprised and to start preparing for such requirements.

How small businesses can be M&A players too Apr 14, 2021

Show notes

In a crowded mergers and acquisitions environment, Bluestone Investment Partners has carved out its own niche by focusing on companies in the $15 million-to-$50 million revenue range. They often are just emerging from the small business set-aside arena and seek more resources to compete for full and open opportunities.

John Allen, co-founder and managing partner of Bluestone Investment Partners, shares in this episode the philosophy and strategy that drives how the firm made its deals in recent years.

Large and mid-size companies typically dominate M&A activity, but Allen explains to WT Editor Nick Wakeman there is no reason that a small business can participate as well -- with the right partner.

CMMC: The latest updates and what's next Mar 29, 2021

Show notes

FCW Senior Editor Lauren Williams, our resident expert on the emerging new cybersecurity standards for contractors, stops by Project 38 to talk with Editor Nick Wakeman and Senior Staff Writer Ross Wilkers about the latest developments.
The Defense Department is making steady progress on the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification despite ups and downs and potential delays. Williams also fills us in on the latest with the CMMC Accreditation Body, the industry group chartered by DOD to run the training and certification program. There has been some turnover with the all-volunteer board, but the chairman is vowing to accelerate the process of getting the system up and running.
There also is news that the 15 pilot contracts that will be the first to require teams to have CMMC certification. The solicitations were supposed to already be out in the market, but now the expectation is later this year or early next.
Williams, Wakeman and Wilkers share what they know and what might be next on the horizon for CMMC.

(NOTE: This podcast was recorded and published prior to March 29's news that the CMMC AB hired a new chief executive)

2021 M&A trends and insights Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

Washington Technology Editor Nick Wakeman and Senior Staff Writer Ross Wilkers see little slowing the pace of mergers and acquisitions in the federal market with buyers of all types continuing to make big deals.
In this episode, they discuss several reasons for the strong M&A activity including the availability of credit and other financial resources, a customer who favors larger and more consolidated contract vehicles and ever-bigger task orders, and the continuing demand for capabilities that support digital transformation efforts.
Wakeman and Wilkers review some of the major deals of 2020 and the big deals so far this year. Their prediction -- more is to come in 2021.

What investor concerns say about the federal market Mar 18, 2021

Show notes

This episode of Project 38 brings together two minds that have different ways of looking at the government contracting landscape but they both represent a critical stakeholder: the investor.
Representing investors that mainly focus on public companies is Jon Raviv, an equity research analyst for Citigroup. The private investor’s point-of-view comes courtesy of Mark Frantz, co-founder and general partner at growth stage investment firm Blue Delta Capital Partners.
On the agenda of the discussion moderated by Senior Staff Writer Ross Wilkers: just how optimistic (or realistic) should we be about the market’s overall health amid renewed budget and deficit chatter whilst the pandemic continues, macroeconomic factors that must be considered in gauging how the sector is fairing, and of course the overall M&A deal landscape.
(NOTE: This episode was recorded March 4. Since then, the latest stimulus package has been signed into law and extends the current CARES Act reimbursements for contractors through Sept. 30. And yes, more M&A deals have been announced.)

Arlington Capital and BlueHalo's strategy to transform modern warfare Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

BlueHalo hit the market hard with six acquisitions in 2020 and as CEO Jonathan Moneymaker explains to Editor Nick Wakeman, this latest platform out of Arlington Capital Partners is pursuing opportunities around the transformation of modern warfare.
BlueHalo's acquisition strategy has focused on capabilities around space superiority, directed energy, missile defense, C4ISR, cybersecurity and intelligence solutions. The goal is to create a mid-tier player that can have an impact on how the U.S. and its allies engage and deter near-peer adversaries.
As Moneymaker explains, the strategy is multi-faceted and one to watch in the years ahead.

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