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Tag: Perspecta

Perspecta Labs lands $37M defense contract

Chantilly-based federal contractor Perspecta Inc. announced Tuesday that its research arm, Perspecta Labs, has landed a $37 million contract to develop network hardware to speed up complex computing applications for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

Perspecta will work on DARPA’s Fast Network Interface Cards program with a goal to accelerate — by 100 times the speed — applications such as the distributed training of machine learning classifiers, which are implemented through algorithms. The company will complete research and design and develop network interface hardware that operates at a faster speed.

“Perspecta Labs will leverage its expertise in networking, systems and distributed computing to provide an innovative, secure solution to the FastNICs challenge,” Perspecta Labs CEO Petros Mouchtaris said in a statement. “We are looking forward to working closely with our DARPA customer to deliver hundredfold improvements for demanding mission critical applications.”

The company will also design and implement new software including resource managers, application programming interfaces and programming tools to allow applications to operate at the improved speed. 

Perspecta employs more than 14,000 workers and won several big federal contracts last year, including an $824 million, five-year deal with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and a $657 million extension on its Next Generation Enterprise Services (NGEN) contract to continue IT services for the U.S. Department of the Navy. In April, Perspecta Labs won a $14.5 million U.S. Army contract to use machine learning to develop a suite of capabilities for the Army to protect against cyberattacks.

 

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Activist hedge fund buys 5.9% stake in Perspecta

New York City-based activist hedge fund Jana Partners LLC has acquired 5.9% (9.4 million shares) of the stock of Chantilly-based government contractor Perspecta, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documentation.

According to a Reuters report, Jana Partners is expected to encourage Perspecta to pursue a sale or merger. Jana intends to push Perspecta stock prices up, saying that “shares are undervalued and represent an attractive investment opportunity.” 

“[Jana Partners] may have discussions with members of [Perspecta’s] board of directors and management team regarding maximizing value for shareholders, including discussing industry consolidation, capitalization, capital allocation, operations and board composition,” the SEC filing reads.

Perspecta’s stock jumped 19% on Friday, according to New York Stock Exchange data — after the news about Jana Partners investment was announced.

Perspecta employs more than 14,000 workers and won several big federal contracts last year, including an $824 million, five-year deal with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and a $657 million extension on its Next Generation Enterprise Services (NGEN) contract to continue IT services for the U.S. Department of the Navy. Its market capitalization is approximately $3.9 billion.

 

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Perspecta CEO becomes chairman of board

Mac Curtis, president and CEO of Chantilly-based federal contractor Perspecta Inc., has been appointed chairman of the company’s board of directors, effective Aug. 5, the date of the company’s 2020 annual shareholders meeting.

Curtis has served as president and CEO of Perspecta since the publicly traded company was launched in June 2018 as a result of the merger of the U.S. public sector business of DXC Technology with Vencore Holding Corp. and KeyPoint Government Solutions. Prior to leading Perspecta, Curtis was the president and CEO of Vencore.

He succeeds Mike Lawrie, who is retiring from the position he has held as Perspecta’s board chairman since its founding. Philip Nolan, the current lead independent director, will continue to serve in this role following Lawrie’s retirement.

“As president and CEO of Perspecta, Mac has delivered solid results, making Perspecta a leading U.S. government IT services provider focused on mission-critical outcomes,” Lawrie said in a statement. “Mac has led Perspecta for two very successful years, executing a seamless integration of the legacy companies, enhancing Perspecta’s innovative solutions and services and developing a talented workforce. Mac’s deep industry knowledge, executive management skills and strategic and tactical capabilities make him ideally suited to lead Perspecta’s continued growth as chairman.”

“On behalf of Perspecta and the board, I want to thank Mike Lawrie for his leadership and guidance over the past two years,” Curtis said. “Mike’s experience and perspective helped accelerate Perspecta’s integration and growth as a leading U.S. government services provider. I look forward to working with the board as we continue to effectively execute our strategy and grow the business while driving value for employees, customers and shareholders.”