Bridge Growth Partners to Acquire Software and Analytics Firm, CRGT Inc.

Bridge Growth Partners, LLC, a private equity firm that focuses on investments in the financial services and technology sectors, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CRGT, Inc. from an affiliate of Veritas Capital. CRGT provides software development and data analytics to federal government agencies.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, and terms have not yet been disclosed. Veritas first acquired CRGT in 2008, and the company will continue to hold a minority stake in CRGT following the acquisition.

“My team and I are excited to partner with Bridge Growth to continue our focused growth strategy and further expand our presence within federal agencies,” said Tom Ferrando, CRGT President and CEO. “We are confident that together we will enhance our status as a leading IT services provider and continue to serve our valued customers.”

“Bridge Growth’s purchase of CRGT is indicative of a few prevalent and emerging themes in GovCon M&A—1) the robust financing market (especially for larger borrowers) is allowing private equity to be aggressive and competitive with strategic buyers, 2) private equity investors remain interested in the GovCon vertical and 3) that a strategic buyer is not the purchaser of CRGT (despite its size) is also indicative of how selective the larger industry corporates currently are on their acquisitions,” said Bob Kipps, Managing Director of KippsDeSanto & Co. about the acquisition.

The principals of Bridge Growth have a long history of working with the federal government. Cofounder and Managing Principal Kevin Parker previously served as the Chairman and CEO of Deltek, which provides enterprise software to professional services firms and government contractors. Cofounder and Managing Principal Alok Singh previously served as Deltek’s lead director.

“The federal IT services sector represents fertile ground for high value agile software development and data analytics, and CRGT provides an attractive growth platform given its existing customer relationships and strategic capabilities,” said Singh. “We look forward to bringing our experience and strong relationships in the sector to support Tom and the rest of the CRGT leadership team.”

Once the transaction has been completed, Parker will serve as CRGT’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, joined by Singh, Bridge Growth Cofounder Sander Levy, and Veritas Capital Managing Partner Ramzi Musallam.

“We are grateful to Tom Ferrando and his team for what they have achieved thus far and we look forward to working with Alok, Kevin, Sander and the Bridge Growth team, along with management, to help take the company to the next level,” said Musallam.