Applied Insight has acquired Bridges, a portfolio company of The Acacia Group and provider of cybersecurity, network engineering and big data analytics solutions for the Intelligence Community (IC). Under the transaction, Baird served as exclusive financial advisor to Bridges, Baird’s Global Investment Banking Group announced on Wednesday.
“This is a true game changer because it means we can now deliver end-to-end hybrid and multicloud solutions, from infrastructure to actionable insight,” said Dede Dascalu, CEO of Applied Insight. “[Bridges] shares our commitment to the national security mission and has experience delivering successful innovations to intelligence customers.”
Bridges, founded in 2000, has developed a suite of security and analytics products and applications that are deployed in highly sensitive customer environments. The company’s team is experienced in cross-domain network solutions, network security, custom application development and data analytics.
With the purchase of Bridges, Applied Insight will gain complementary capabilities in network security, cloud engineering, data science, cross-domain solutions and application development. Bridges will also expand Applied Insight’s portfolio of intellectual property to strengthen its position with intelligence customers.
“Applied Insight’s acquisitions of Bridges is a great example of two fast growing and IP-rich companies combining forces to further enhance customer missions across the defense and intelligence communities through innovative cyber products, advanced analytics and end-to-end security for hybrid-cloud infrastructures,” said Alex Sevilla, managing director of Baird.
Baird noted that Applied Insight’s acquisition of Bridges has highlighted buyer priorities in Government and Defense mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The acquisition has illustrated the increased focus on cybersecurity and data analytics.
In addition, Baird added that companies look for differentiation through innovative technology that will drive mission outcomes, as well as strong cultural alignment and private equity-backed companies that have executed an inorganic growth strategy.
About Baird
Baird is a leading middle-market focused global investment bank serving the M&A, equity financing and debt advisory needs of our clients throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. Since 2015, Baird has completed almost 580 advisory transactions, representing more than $167 billion in transaction value, and nearly 360 financings, raising more than $112 billion.
