KippsDeSanto & Co. Advises DLH Holdings Corporation on its Acquisition of Social & Scientific Systems

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KippsDeSanto & Co. Advises DLH Holdings Corporation on its Acquisition of Social & Scientific Systems

KippsDeSanto & Co. is pleased to announce the acquisition of Social & Scientific Systems (“SSS”) by its client, DLH Holdings Corporation (“DLH” or the “Company”).

Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, DLH is a leading provider of innovative healthcare services and solutions to federal agencies.  The Company’s core competencies include assessment and compliance monitoring, business process outsourcing, health information technology systems integration, management, readiness and medical logistics, and pharmacy solutions.

Founded in 1978, SSS, is an experienced public health organization that provides scientific research, policy, and program evaluation to leading federal health customers.  SSS has established a strong brand within its core federal health customers and maintains a high degree of embeddedness supporting longitudinal public health studies that have spanned multiple decades.

Building off DLH’s successful acquisition of Danya in 2016, SSS adds further domain expertise (public health and life sciences), additional capabilities depth (data analytics, advanced research and IT), and scale.  SSS’ differentiated expertise, coupled with DLH’s existing business, strategically aligns to enhance the combined businesses’ organic growth across the fast-growing, multibillion-dollar federal healthcare market.

We believe this investment demonstrates several key trends in the healthcare M&A market:

  • Consolidation of government contractors of scale in niche, well-funded markets to drive mid-tier organic competitiveness
  • Value continues to be placed on companies with established client relationships, strong past performance, and solid revenue visibility on prime, unrestricted contracts
  • Attractiveness of deeply embedded and longstanding positions on well-funded programs

About KippsDeSanto & Co. KippsDeSanto & Co. is the largest independent investment banking firm exclusively focused on serving leading, growth-oriented Aerospace / Defense, Government Services and Technology companies.  We are focused on delivering exceptional M&A and Financing transaction results to our clients via leveraging our scale, creativity and industry experience.  We help market leaders realize their full strategic value.  Having advised on over 100 industry transactions, KippsDeSanto is recognized for our analytical rigor, market insight, and broad industry relationships.  There’s no substitute for experience.  For more information, visit www.kippsdesanto.com.

DLH Announces Acquisition of Social & Scientific Systems

ATLANTA, June 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — DLH Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: DLHC) (“DLH” or the “Company”), a leading provider of innovative healthcare services and solutions to federal agencies, today announced that it has acquired privately-held Social & Scientific Systems (“SSS”) of Silver Spring, Maryland. The firm, with approximately 400 employees, is a leading public health service organization providing solutions in clinical and biomedical research, epidemiology, health policy, and program evaluation. SSS utilizes advanced research (including longitudinal studies), data analytics, and secure IT platform services to assist mission-critical public health agencies within the Department of Health & Human Services – including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – along with other healthcare-related institutions.

SSS was purchased for $70 million in cash, or $63 million net of transaction-related tax benefits worth $7 million on a net present value basis. DLH estimates that SSS will contribute approximately $65 million, on an annualized basis, to revenue of the Company going forward. The SSS backlog was approximately $346 million at closing, reflecting the long-term nature of its research and studies contracts. The funded component of acquired backlog was approximately $40 million. SSS will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of DLH Holdings Corp. and will be led by Kevin Beverly, its current President.

“This is an exciting addition to DLH and one that aligns perfectly with our strategy to expand the Company’s Public Health & Life Sciences focus area, diversifying our portfolio and bringing scale to support growth. In addition, we’ll augment our executive team with the high caliber leadership demonstrated by Kevin Beverly,” said Zachary Parker, DLH President & CEO. “With over 40 years in business, SSS is a nationally-recognized technology-enabled health research organization that collects, manages, and analyzes large-scale health data in support of critical public initiatives – complementing and broadening the markets we serve within the federal government.”

“I’m very pleased that SSS has found, in DLH, a great partner with which to continue delivering high quality health policy, data analytics, and public health services to federal agencies,” added Kevin Beverly, President of SSS. “Not only does DLH share a similar vision and corporate culture, but the Company is dedicated to improving the lives of citizens across the US and around the world. DLH has a reputation for providing a disciplined approach to achieving excellent customer service – including CMMI and ISO certifications – and valuing its employees. I look forward to working with Zach and his team as part of this dynamic new enterprise.”

DLH financed the acquisition through a new 5-year, $95 million, secured bank credit facility. First National Bank of Pennsylvania acted as agent, and F.N.B. Capital Markets and M&T Bank acted as joint lead arrangers. The facility is comprised of a syndicated term loan of $70 million and revolving credit facility of $25 million. The acquisition price and transaction expenses were funded by the term loan plus cash reserves of DLH, with the revolver available to support future cash needs. The interest rate applicable to borrowings is LIBOR plus a spread, based on the consolidated leverage ratio of DLH; at closing, the interest rate was 6.42%. Additional terms of the transaction and financing arrangements will be available in the Company’s SEC filings.

Advisors

KippsDeSanto & Co. served as financial advisor to DLH. Hogan Lovells US, LLP and Becker & Poliakoff LLP served as legal advisors to DLH as part of this transaction. The Avascent Group, Baker Tilly, and the Lockton Companies provided consulting services to DLH in connection with the acquisition.

Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to SSS; Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr, LLP served as legal advisor to SSS.

Conference Call and Webcast to be Held July 2, 2019

DLH management will discuss the acquisition of SSS on a conference call beginning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, July 2, 2019. Interested parties may listen to the conference call by dialing 888-347-5290 and providing the operator with the conference ID 10132176. Presentation materials will also be posted on the Investor Relations section of the DLH website prior to the commencement of the conference call.

A digital recording of the conference call will be available for replay two hours after the completion of the call and can be accessed on the DLH Investor Relations website or by dialing 877-344-7529 and entering the conference ID 10132176.

About DLH

DLH (NASDAQ:DLHC) serves federal government clients throughout the United States and abroad delivering technology enabled solutions in key health and human services programs. The Company’s core competencies and consulting services include assessment and compliance monitoring, program management, health IT systems integration, data analytics, medical logistics, and pharmacy solutions. DLH has over 1,600 employees serving numerous government agencies. For more information, visit the corporate website at www.dlhcorp.com.

About Social & Scientific Systems

Social & Scientific Systems, based in Silver Springs, MD, is a public health research organization providing solutions in clinical and biomedical research, epidemiology and public health research, health policy, and program evaluation. The company, with approximately 400 employees, has offices in Durham, NC and Kampala, Uganda and was founded in 1978. Additional information can be found at www.s-3.com.