The top 10 defense acquisitions of 2010

A need for a robust defense business was the driving factor behind CGI Group’s acquisition of Stanley Inc. in 2010 and that deal has been picked as the best deal of the year in the government market.

CGI paid $1 billion for Stanley to gain access to the company’s defense and intelligence customers, which accounted for more than 77 percent of Stanley’s nearly $900 million in annual revenue.

The acquisition was picked as the top deal by Defense Systems sister publication Washington Technology as part of its annual M&A roundup issue.

While the CGI-Stanley deal was picked as the best overall acquisition, ManTech International’s purchase of Sensor Technologies Inc. for $242 million was picked as the best defense-related acquisition.

The deal further solidified ManTech’s offerings in critical areas such as command and control and other areas.

Babcock International Group’s $2.1 billion acquisition of VT Group carried the highest price tag of any acquisition, defense or civilian, last year. VT Group provides a variety of defense-related services including training, base and range support, and logistics.

Another large defense deal was Cerberus Capital Management’s acquisition of DynCorp for $1.6 billion. DynCorp provides a variety of mission support services including infrastructure, land systems, training and logistics.

The 2010 top 10 defense deals, ranked by value are: