Citizens M&A Advisory served as joint M&A advisor to QinetiQ Group plc on its recent acquisition of Avantus Federal from NewSpring Holdings. The transaction was valued at approximately $590 million, including approximately $70 million in tax benefits to QinetiQ, representing an enterprise value to last 12 months EBITDA multiple of approximately 14.6 times, net of the tax assets.

QinetiQ US is a wholly-owned subsidiary of QinetiQ Group plc and a leading multi-domain defense technology and services company that provides mission-critical solutions in robotics and autonomous systems, sensing and protection systems.

Avantus is a leading provider of mission-focused cyber, data analytics and software development solutions to the U.S. Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal civilian agencies.

“This acquisition is an important step in the execution of QinetiQ’s five-year ambition to expand our presence in the U.S. — the largest security and defense market in the world,” said QinetiQ Group plc Chief Executive Officer Steve Wadey. “The Citizens team was an excellent partner throughout this strategically important transaction. Their extensive knowledge of the U.S. market, deep relationships across the sector and strategic insights were invaluable resources for QinetiQ during this process.”

“Avantus’ customers and capabilities align with QinetiQ’s core focus areas globally, positioning the company to address the complex and evolving challenges facing defense and national security agencies,” said Dillon Bowles, managing director and head of Citizens Aerospace, Defense and Government Services. “The Citizens ADGS team, including recent addition Ryan Fruh and his two decades of sector M&A experience, worked very closely with the QinetiQ team to achieve a successful outcome.”