By Ross Wilkers
Feb 22, 2021
Roughly five months went by after Veritas Capital asked in July 2020 for a waiver from its agreement with Perspecta that governed how the private equity firm could try to buy the company.
The Perspecta board of directors granted Veritas that waiver on Jan. 6, though before that Veritas was able to give ranges of what it thought the government technology company was worth.
After Jan. 6, Veritas submitted three bids over the next 20 days and its final offer prevailed over a competing bid by unnamed government contractor in the final round, according to regulatory filings posted Friday.
The final offer by that contractor called “Company A” in the filing came in at $28.50 per share in cash and stock, while Veritas’ last and winning bid was $29.35 per share in all cash.
Perspecta CEO plans to retire after close of Peraton deal
Perspecta Chairman and CEO Mac Curtis will retire once that company s transaction with Peraton is completed in the coming months, according to a letter he sent to employees.
Peraton, backed by Veritas Capital, completed the first step in its transformation this week when it closed the acquisition of Northrop Grumman’s IT business. Step two is the pending acquisition of Perspecta, a publicly-traded company where Veritas holds 14.5 percent of the shares.
The new company will be called Peraton, whose CEO Stu Shea will continue to lead the company.
Curtis, who has led Perspecta and one of its predecessor companies since 2013, announced his retirement in a letter to employees that was released in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
By Ross Wilkers
Jan 27, 2021
The government IT and services market apparently wanted to get 2021 started with a true megadeal that involves one of the largest publicly-traded companies and a notable investor in that business.
Perspecta said Wednesday it has agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Veritas Capital for $7.1 billion in cash, or $29.35 per share. Veritas Capital already held 14.5 percent of Perspecta’s stock and earlier this month revealed that both parties had started some discussions about a potential transaction.
The deal is anticipated to close in the first half of this year. Perspecta s board of directors has approved the deal, which shareholders will get to vote on as well. But the story does not end there.
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CHANTILLY, Va., Jan. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ Perspecta Inc. (NYSE: PRSP) ( Perspecta or the Company ), a leading U.S. government services provider, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement under which it will be acquired by Peraton, a portfolio company of leading private investment firm Veritas Capital ( Veritas ), in an all-cash transaction valued at $7.1 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, Perspecta stockholders will receive $29.35 per share in cash, which represents a premium of 49.7% to the Company s unaffected closing stock price of $19.60 on November 6, 2020, the last trading day prior to media reports being published regarding a potential strategic process for Perspecta, and a premium of 11.8% to the closing stock price of $26.25 on January 26, 2021.
The challenge ahead for what becomes of Peraton-Perspecta-Northrop IT
I have no doubts or reservations about the abilities of the leaders of Perspecta and Peraton, but when I saw the news this morning and read Ross Wilkers’ story on their pending combination, the thought that kept running through my mind was Holy Smokes, that’s going to be a huge integration challenge.
In all honesty, Holy Smokes is the family friendly version of what I was thinking.
Veritas Capital was already buying Northrop Grumman’s IT services business and merging it into Peraton. Now Veritas is buying Perspecta, where it already was its largest shareholder at 14.5 percent, and merging that with Peraton.