KippsDeSanto & Co. advises Markon Solutions on its merger with Anser Advisory, LLC, a portolio company of Sterling Investment Partners

KippsDeSanto & Co. advises Markon Solutions on its merger with Anser Advisory, LLC, a portfolio company of Sterling Investment Partners

KippsDeSanto & Co. is pleased to announce the merger of Markon Solutions (“Markon” or the “Company”) with Anser Advisory, LLC, a portfolio company of Sterling Investment Partners.

Headquartered in Falls Church, VA, Markon is a leading management consulting and advisory firm addressing critical infrastructure and mission support for a national security customer base, spanning the Intelligence Community (“IC”), Department of Defense (“DoD”), and Federal and Civilian (“FedCiv”) agencies.

Backed by a team of highly-cleared engineers, architects, program / construction managers (“PM/CM”), and security professionals, Markon has a deep heritage supporting and managing its customers’ most critical secure infrastructure, capital projects, and

related mission requirements, to include facilities management, security, technology, finance, and training. The Company’s comprehensive consulting solutions and embedded positions supporting its well-funded, high-profile customers has positioned Markon at the forefront of the Federal secure facilities and infrastructure market with several well-established growth opportunities to support the accelerated need of customers to protect their most critical assets.

The acquisition adds Markon’s expansive Federal market consulting expertise to Anser’s existing civil and social infrastructure portfolio.

We believe this transaction highlights several key trends in the Federal consulting M&A market:

• Secure infrastructure and critical missions support remain well-funded and of vital importance to broader National Security objectives;
• Acquirers continue to attribute strong value to companies with entrenched customer positioning and longstanding incumbency on mission-critical programs;
• Deep domain and subject matter expertise, paired with highly differentiated management consulting models, remain critical differentiators for sellers; and
• Private equity continues to deploy capital in the government services market – via new platforms and add-ons to existing portfolio companies to further diversify current offerings and further build the middle market

About KippsDeSanto & Co. KippsDeSanto & Co. is an investment banking firm focused on serving 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.

Investment Banking products and services are offered through KippsDeSanto & Co., a non-bank subsidiary of Capital One, N.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Capital One Financial Corporation, and a member of FINRA and SIPC. Products and services are Not FDIC insured, Not Bank Guaranteed, May Lose Value, Not a Deposit, and Not Insured by Any Federal Government Agency.

Press Release

Anser Advisory and Markon Solutions Announce Merger

Santa Ana, CA. — October 12, 2021 – Anser Advisory (“Anser”), the 17th largest PM firm according to ENR, second fastest growing AE firm in 2020 according to Zweig Group, and a Certified Great Places To Work organization, and Markon Solutions (“Markon”), the 33rd PM-for-Fee and 61st CM-for-Fee firm in 2021 according to ENR and a perennial Washington Post Top Workplaces firm, are pleased to announce the merging of their organizations.

The combination of Anser and Markon creates a 650+ employee organization comprised of world-class leaders and innovators who support mission critical projects globally for some of the nation’s most prestigious organizations, including the intelligence community, federal civilian and defense agencies, transportation, aviation, water/wastewater, energy, education, housing, cultural, healthcare and municipal clients.

Markon will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anser Advisory, a portfolio company of Sterling Investment Partners. Existing clients of both firms should expect no noticeable change in personnel or support.

Anser’s CEO Bryan Carruthers noted, “The combination of our organizations is transformative. The Markon expertise within the federal market, particularly the intelligence community and civilian and defense agencies, coupled with their established presence within the Virginia/Maryland/DC area are perfectly complementary to the Anser expertise in aviation, transportation, water, education, and energy. Our combined organization will continue to deliver innovative solutions coupled with world-class people in support of our client’s critical missions across federal, civil, and social infrastructure. Markon’s President Matt Dean and I are thrilled to bring our organizations together.”

“Joining with Anser Advisory not only better positions us to compete against the most successful firms in federal contracting, but also provides great depth and variety in terms of the opportunities it creates for our employees,” added Matt Dean. “We will continue to serve our current clients as Anser’s federal division, and our employees will also have the ability to support a larger platform of projects both locally and across the country. Being part of a growing company creates more opportunities for all. Furthermore, this will enable greater investment in innovation, especially as it relates to our security and enterprise technology solutions, which represent new territory for Anser’s platform.”

Markon will initially operate as Markon Solutions, an Anser Advisory Company. Together, the companies will ultimately co-create the framework for a fully integrated organization under the Anser Advisory brand.

Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor, and Dechert LLP, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, and Morrison & Foerster LLP acted as legal counsel, to Anser Advisory and its affiliates.

KippsDeSanto & Co. served as exclusive financial advisor, and Greenburg Traurig provided legal counsel, to Markon Solutions.

About Markon Solutions

Founded in 2007, Markon Solutions is a nationally recognized professional services firm headquartered in Falls Church, VA. With an elite team of high-performing leaders and innovators, we serve as trusted advisors managing tasks on behalf of our clients, so that they can stay focused on their mission. Markon’s impressive workforce leads with humility and respect, takes initiative, puts corporate and client integrity before personal gain, and are champions of fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture where our employees and clients benefit from a wide range of collective viewpoints, experiences, and talents. Specializing in six core service areas—acquisition, finance, facilities, security, enterprise technology, and training—Markon is consistently recognized on the ENR Top 50 Program Management and Top 100 Construction Management-for-Fee Firms, Washington Post Top Workplaces, and Virginia Business Best Places to Work lists. Markon is also a 2021 Top Workplaces USA winner, as well as the first GEN (Gender Equity Now) certified organization on the East coast and in the government contracting industry.

About Anser Advisory

Anser Advisory is an ENR Top 50 Program Management firm, and Great Place to Work® designated 2021 Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services™, specializing in capital program advisory and consulting services, organization preparedness, strategy, funding, process development, program controls and project, program, and agency construction management. Anser offers clients solutions that address owner pain points across the capital development cycle from pre-planning through construction and closeout within a diverse range of social and civil infrastructure end markets.

About Sterling Investment Partners

Sterling Investment Partners is a private equity firm that has been investing in and building middle-market companies for over 30 years with a highly experienced, cohesive team of senior investment professionals. Sterling focuses on business services and value-added distribution, investing in businesses that the firm believes have strong, sustainable competitive advantages and significant opportunities for value creation. The firm has completed transactions representing $19.4 billion in gross transaction value since inception. www.sterlinglp.com.NEW YORK – J.F. Lehman & Company (“JFLCO”), a leading middle-market private equity firm focused exclusively on the defense, aerospace, maritime, government and environmental industries, announced today that investment affiliates have sold BEI Precision Systems & Space Company, Inc. (“BEI Precision” or the “Company”) to Quantic Corporate Holdings, Inc. (“Quantic Electronics”), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.