Parsons buys Xator for $400M, beefs up its biometrics portfolio

Intelligence defense contractor Parsons has bought 900-person biometrics company Xator in a deal valued at $400 million. Parsons wants to increase its customer base and add biometric capabilities through the deal.

Xator will largely be integrated into Parsons’ engineering systems unit. Its global capabilities will be used across Parsons’ federal and critical infrastructure segments. Parsons expects Xator to generate $300 million in revenue in 2023.

Xator specializes in biometrics, critical infrastructure protection, intelligence and cyber products, and global threat assessment and operations. The new capabilities are expected to increase Parsons’ reach into U.S. federal government contracts and critical infrastructure projects.

Also of note is Xator’s InCadence, a biometrics unit contracted with the U.S. Marines. It supported the Department of Defense’s Biometrics Project Management Office in the migration of the Near Real Time Identity Operations to Amazon Web Service’s GovCloud.

Parsons also says the acquisition will improve its profile in the U.S. Special Operations Command, intelligence and other civilian agencies, and global critical infrastructure markets while finding new buyers in the State Department. Xator opened a facility in Bridgeport, West Virginia late last year to enhance its connections to customers, including government agencies, and research institutions.

“This acquisition strengthens our position across our two complementary markets and continues our strategy of buying accretive, mission-focused companies aligned with global macroeconomic trends,” says Carey Smith, CEO of Parsons.

Parsons has bid recently on NATO biometric enrollment device for the alliance’s Kosovo forces.

Article Topics

acquisitions  |  biometrics  |  InCadence Strategic Solutions  |  Parsons Corporation  |  U.S. Government  |  Xator