A&D Weekly - January 8, 2024

Industry Headline News

171 Boeing 737 Max 9 jets grounded by FAA after Alaska Airlines blowout

Jan, 7, 2024 - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered temporary grounding of 171 Boeing jets with the same panel, awaiting agreed-upon inspection criteria between the FAA and Boeing before flight can resume. Airlines, including Alaska and United, have canceled flights, impacting thousands of passengers, while the investigation into the incident continues. (AP)

BAE Systems will produce M777 lightweight howitzer structures for the U.S. Army in a $50 million deal, potentially restarting the production line

Jan. 4, 2024 - The U.S., Canada, and Australia have sent M777 towed howitzers to Ukraine in support of its conflict with Russia. BAE plans to deliver the first structures in 2025, rebooting its supply chain in the U.K. and the U.S. (Defense News)

A coalition of European nations, have ordered up to 1,000 Patriot air defense missiles, valued at $5.5 billion, in response to Russian airstrikes on major Ukrainian cities

Jan. 3, 2024 - The NATO Support and Procurement Agency is facilitating the purchase through a contract awarded to COMLOG, a joint venture between MBDA Germany and RTX. The deal aims to strengthen industrial and military capabilities in Europe, and if all options are exercised, the nations will procure up to 1,000 Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missiles. (Defense News)

Bombardier awarded contract from US Army for new HADES spy plane prototype

Jan. 3, 2024 - The U.S. Army awarded a firm-fixed-price contract to Bombardier Defense for a Global 6500 aircraft, with an option for an additional two aircraft over three years. The first aircraft is scheduled for delivery by Oct. 1 and will serve as the airframe for the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) platform for advanced deep=sensing ISR capabilities. (Defense News)

India's Akasa Air is in the final stages of an order for 150 Boeing 737 MAX planes

Jan. 2, 2024 - The deal is anticipated to be announced at Wings India, the country's major civil aviation event, on Jan. 18-21, according to undisclosed sources. Akasa Air aim to use the new order to fuel both domestic and international expansion. (Reuters)

After the successful first flight of the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, Northrop Grumman is anticipating a contract for the first of five low-rate initial production lots in 2024

Dec. 29, 2023 - The U.S. Air Force aims to acquire at least 100 B-21s to replace aging bombers, with Ellsworth Air Force Base set to receive the first Raider in the mid-2020s. Challenges in production however, are complicating the process and may result in initial losses of up to $1.2 billion for Northrop Grumman, according to company officials. (C4ISRNE)

Weekly Transaction Review

No.	Parties Involved	Transaction Metrics			Location	Segment
	Target [Parent] Acquirer [Parent]	Price ($M)	Price/ Revenue	Price/ EBITDA	Target	Target
1	Samtan Engineering Fairbanks Morse Defense [Arcline Investment Management]	-	-	-	Malden, MA	Machined & Cast Parts
2	Executive Business Services, Inc. Deltek, Inc. [Roper Technologies, Inc.]	-	-	-	Temecula, CA	Government Services, IT Services and Software
3	Vian Enterprises, Inc. Crane Company	$103.0	3.1x	12.9x	Auburn, CA	Components & Subsystems
4	Ascolta, LLC [VION Corp] Management Science & Innovation, LLC	-	-	-	Hampton, VA	Government Services, IT Services and Software
5	Trustwave Holdings [Singtei] Mc2 Security Fund [Chertoff Group]	-	-	-	Reston, VA	Government Services, IT Services and Software

No.	Target Descriptions
1	Samtan is a single-source metalworking supplier which produces drawn and stamped components and assemblies for private sector and U.S. federal government defense markets. The company's capabilities include shearing, punching, forming, machining, welding, and assembly.
2	ProPricer is a developer of enterprise government pricing software for private sector and U.S. federal government markets. ProPricer software maximizes the efficiency of the development, submission, negotiation, and auditing of proposal pricing. The software empowers government contractors to build custom proposals, perform what-if analyses, and integrate all proposal data quickly.
3	Vian Enterprises is a designer and manufacturer of multi-stage lubrication pumps and lubrication system components technology for private sector and U.S. federal government aerospace and defense applications. Vian is sole-sourced and uses proprietary content on the highest volume commercial and military aircraft platforms.
4	Ascolta is a big data system integrator and service provider specializing in cyber and advanced analytics for enterprise-level customers in private sector and U.S. federal government markets. Ascolta partners with the industry's leading manufacturers, providing customized analytics solutions data warehouse augmentation, operational analysis, security and intelligence and cyber.
5	Trustwave is a provider of on-demand and subscription-based information security and payment card industry compliance management solutions to businesses and government entities throughout the world. Trustwave provides organizations faced with data security and compliance issues that include its flagship TrustKeeper compliance management software and other security solutions.