“It’s going to be a great Christmas for the investment bankers in our community,” Wolf Den Associates co-Founder and Managing Director Kevin Robbins said at his 2016 Federal Market Outlook presentation to the WashingtonExec Federal Business Council.
In 2015, the federal contracting industry has seen an increase in mergers acquisition activity including the merger of CSC’s Government Services Unit with SRA, the formation of Salient CRGT, and the acquisitions of Novetta Solutions by The Carlyle Group and Alion by Veritas. Wolf Den predicts there will be a rush to complete deals between now and the end of the year and that stakeholders will see a sharp decline in deal flow in the second half of 2016, as the presidential election takes center stage. Uncertainly over the newly-elected administration’s priorities will make it difficult to lean forward into large, portfolio shaping transactions.
As previously awarded Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) contracts are unable to fulfill requirements and deadlines, technical superiority is beginning to (finally) trump low price in the current market, according to Wolf Den. Across civilian and defense agencies, contract awards are being bundled into larger, consolidated vehicles that raises the stakes for all competitors. With respect to small business set-aside (SBSA) contracts, Wolf Den does not foresee the SBSA pressures abating until after a change in administration.
Wolf Den Associates is a strategy and management consulting firm focused on helping federal market participants accelerate their growth. Wolf Den serves one-third of the Washington Technology Top 100, including more than half of the top 25, and a roster of financial sponsor clients with more than $225 billion in Assets Under Management, providing tailored federal market strategic planning, capture and proposal, technical solutions and buy-side support services.
Sign up for the company’s monthly Practitioner Perspectives here.
