Citizens M&A Advisory served as joint M&A advisor to QinetiQ Group plc (LSE: QQ) 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.”

Citizens M&A Advisory specializes in middle-market mergers and acquisitions. Citizens combines sector intelligence with a client-focused approach to realize our clients’ true value. The Citizens team has more than 150 M&A professionals specializing in a range of industries across the United States. Citizens M&A Advisory is part of Citizens Capital Markets, Inc., a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group (NYSE: CFG).

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $224.7 billion in assets as of September 30, 2022. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,300 ATMs and approximately 1,200 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.

Source – Citizens Financial Group