Accenture Federal Services to acquire Cognosante

Arlington County-based Accenture Federal Services (AFS) has entered into an agreement to acquire Falls Church-based Cognosante, the companies announced Tuesday.

Terms of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory review, were not disclosed in the announcement released Tuesday by the two companies.

Cognosante’s more than 1,500 employees will join AFS’ workforce of more than 14,000, according to a news release. A subsidiary of Fortune Global 500 professional services company Accenture, AFS will launch a new health portfolio with the acquisition. Cognosante provides IT support to federal, state and local government agencies with public health missions.

“We are continually innovating and investing to help federal agencies stay ahead of the ever-changing needs of their mission and customers,” Accenture Federal Services CEO  John Goodman said in a statement. “Accenture Federal Services is excited to welcome the Cognosante team.”

Michele Kang founded Cognosante in 2008. The company works with federal government clients including health care programs supporting veterans, active-duty military, patients, beneficiaries, providers and payors. Last May, the company earned one of four spots on a $1 billion Department of Veterans Affairs telehealth contract.

Kang is also majority owner of the Washington Spirit women’s pro soccer team.

“As we explored ways to continue to scale and grow, we could not have found a better home than Accenture Federal Services,” Kang said in a statement. “The company shares our commitment to its clients and people and has industry-leading capabilities, talent, speed and scale.”

In 2021, AFS acquired McLean-based Novetta, an advanced analytics company that had been a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm where Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin was previously co-CEO. In May 2023, AFS earned a spot on an IRS systems modernization contract worth up to $2.6 billion. The month before, AFS launched a Federal Generative AI Center of Excellence.

Accenture reported $16.2 billion in total revenues for the first quarter of this year.