Potomac Tech Wire - March 4
BlackRock-Led Group to Acquire Arlington-based AES for $33.4 Billion
o Arlington-based AES Agrees to $33.4 Billion Buyout
o HawkEye 360 Raises Additional $23 Million in Series E
o Arlington Capital Sells Portfolio Company Forged Solutions
o Fairfax-based IntelliGRC Raises $3.5 Million in Seed Round
o CrossCountry Consulting Acquires LA-based CNM LLP
o DC-based Precision Strategies to Acquire Firehouse Strategies
o GI Partners Acquires Two Data Centers in Maryland
o Baltimore-based Psst.org Names Executive Director
o Briefly Noted: Casepoint, SiteGround
BlackRock-Led Group to Acquire Arlington-based AES for $33.4 Billion
Arlington, Va. – In one of the largest buyouts of a local company ever, Arlington-based power and energy company AES announced it will be acquired by a group led by BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT AB. The group will acquire AES for $15 per share, giving an enterprise value of $33.4 billion. The move comes as the need for power increases with the growth of AI-focused data centers. =
“Over the course of our 45-year history of powering industries and shaping the future of energy, AES has built a diverse portfolio to meet the evolving power needs of our customers and communities,” said Andrés Gluski, president and CEO of AES. “We believe this transaction maximizes value for existing stockholders and positions the Company for long-term success as we continue delivering on our commitments to customers, communities and people.”
HawkEye 360 Raises Additional $23 Million in Series E
Herndon, Va. – HawkEye 360, the Herndon-based signals intelligence data company, announced that it has closed on $23 million in an additional close of its Series E round. Investors included new investors Ghisallo, Principia Growth, and Sixty Degree Capital, in addition to existing investor Strategic Development Fund (SDF). HawkEye 360 said it will use the funds to strengthen its balance sheet and to integrate its acquisition of Innovative Signal Analysis (ISA) that was announced in December.
“The continued participation from both new and existing investors underscores confidence in our strategy and the progress we’re making as we scale the business,” said John Serafini, CEO of HawkEye 360. “We are advancing our capabilities through the integration of ISA and continued investment in our platform, supporting the signals intelligence our partners rely on to inform their missions.”
Arlington Capital Sells Portfolio Company Forged Solutions
Washington, DC – Arlington Capital Partners, the DC-based private investment firm focused on government-regulated industries, announced the sale of aerospace company Forged Solutions Group to J.F. Lehman & Company. FSG provides components for aircraft engines, space launch systems and industrial machinery. FSG was formed in 2019 by Arlington Capital through the combination of various acquired firms.
“Against a backdrop of strong secular tailwinds for aerospace and defense markets, the precision forging industry was constrained by bottlenecks, resulting in long lead times and poor customer service levels,” said Peter Manos, a Managing Partner at Arlington Capital Partners. “With FSG, we set out to address this shortfall by building a scaled, high-performance platform capable of executing on the industry’s most mission-critical programs while delivering the reliability and responsiveness the market demanded.”
Fairfax-based IntelliGRC Raises $3.5 Million in Seed Round
Fairfax, Va. – IntelliGRC, a Fairfax-based cybersecurity and compliance platform startup, announced the closing of $3.5 million in seed funding. The round was co-led by Kyle Hanslovan, the co-founder & CEO, Huntress, and Blu Ventures. IntelliGRC is focused on providing Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC) as a service.
“Closing this round is a pivotal step in scaling IntelliGRC and further supports our mission in democratizing high-quality governance, risk, and compliance accessible at scale,” said Ozzie Saeed, founder and CEO of IntelliGRC. “Most modern GRC systems were built on the promises of automations, automated evidence, and vast amounts of integrations, while still requiring the use of SMEs.”
CrossCountry Consulting Acquires LA-based CNM LLP
McLean, Va. – CrossCountry Consulting, a McLean-based business and technology advisory firm, announced the acquisition of Los Angeles-based CNM LLP, a provider of financial advisory services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. CrossCountry said the acquisition will give it an expanded presence in Southern California.
“This acquisition is a pivotal step in our growth strategy, significantly expanding our ability to support clients in the Southern California market and enhancing our core solutions for the Office of the CFO,” said Erik Linn, co-founder and managing partner of CrossCountry Consulting. “With teams and offices stretching from coast to coast, we’re especially pleased to join forces with an organization whose values and collaborative culture so closely align with ours.”
DC-based Precision Strategies to Acquire Firehouse Strategies
Washington, DC – In the coming together of both a Democratic and Republican aligned firms, Precision Strategies, a DC-based strategy and marketing agency, announced that it has acquired DC-based public affairs firm Firehouse Strategies. The combined company will have 125 employees. Precision was founded in 2013 by senior executives from the Obama for President campaigns in 2008 and 2012. Firehouse was founded by senior leaders from Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign.
GI Partners Acquires Two Data Centers in Maryland
Laurel, Md. – Adding to its portfolio of 78 data centers, GI Partners, a San Francisco-based private alternative investment firm, announced that it has completed the acquisition of two data centers in Maryland. The centers, which are currently fully leased, are in Laurel and Severn. “Our acquisition of these properties reflects our conviction in the region, supported by durable demand from government, defense, and regulated cloud users,” said Mike Armstrong, managing director and Head of Real Estate Tech+Science Investments at GI Partners. “The portfolio’s strategic location positions it as a compelling opportunity to expand our data center footprint.”
Baltimore-based Tech Whistleblower Org Psst.org Names Executive Director
Baltimore – Psst.org, a Baltimore-based non-profit tech whistleblower organization, has named Jennifer Gibson as its new executive director. Gibson, a co-founder of Psst.org that was founded in 2024, was formerly Legal Director of The Signals Network.
“Psst.org was founded to address a structural failure in how whistleblowing is handled – one that places too much risk on individuals and too little responsibility on institutions,” said Gibson. “I’m honored to step into this role and to continue building collective, resilient pathways for truth-telling in the public interest. As powerful technologies increasingly shape society behind closed doors, we need more than ever to shed sunlight on what’s happening inside the black box of tech.”
Briefly Noted
(Washington, DC) Casepoint, a DC-based legal and compliance software company, has named Pete Feinberg as chief product officer. Feinberg previously served as chief product officer at Consilio.
(Alexandria, Va.) SiteGround, an Alexandria-based web hosting and business application firm, announced the launch of Coderick AI, an app builder aimed at removing the barriers of producing custom software. “We are taking the power of custom software development – once reserved for those with deep pockets and technical teams – and putting it directly into the hands of small business owners and just about anyone with a laptop and an internet connection,” said Nikolay Todorov, CEO of SiteGround.