Satellite imagery provider DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI) has agreed to purchase Chantilly, Virginia-based geospatial information services contractor The Radiant Group for $140 million in an effort to diversify revenue and add new offerings and staff to support the U.S. intelligence and special operations community.
DigitalGlobe said Tuesday it expects to close the transaction subject to regulatory approvals by the end of the calendar year and anticipates to fund the deal with $40 million in cash on hand and $100 million in drawings from its existing revolving line of credit.
An Aston Capital-owned company, The Radiant Group expects to record approximately $100 million in revenue for the year and holds positions on at least 80 total contract vehicles and 20 prime contracts with agencies such as the Defense Intelligence Agency,  National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency,  National Reconnaissance Office and Special Operations Command.
Tony Frazier, senior vice president of DigitalGlobe’s services business, told investors in a conference call the company establishes a new relationship with NRO through the transaction that also deepens a partnership with NGA.
Westminster, Colo.-based DigitalGlobe closed its combination with the former GeoEye in February 2013 to consolidate what was at the time the two largest providers of geospatial imagery and related services to U.S. government agencies such as NGA under the EnhancedView contract.
DigitalGlobe’s purchase of Radiant will reduce EnhancedView contract concentration by approximately 5 percent, according to investor slides.
DigitalGlobe CEO Jeffrey Tarr said the company will take in 400 additional employees and 250 software engineers with experience in big data analytics, cloud computing and machine learning.
Shares in DigitalGlobe have risen 71Â percent from the year’s start and are up 25 percent over 12 months with total market capitalization at $1.68 billion as of Monday’s close.
Aston Capital is an aerospace and defense-focused private equity firm headquartered in Stamford, Conn. that was founded by L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) co-founder Robert LaPenta.
