Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) has agreed to acquire Belcan in a cash-and-stock transaction worth approximately $1.3 billion to expand its engineering research and development capabilities and presence in the aerospace and defense industry.
Cognizant said Monday it expects the transaction to conclude in the quarter ending Sept. 30, subject to regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions, and will form an integration program office to advance execution against the acquisition’s financial and strategic goals.
Established in 1958, Belcan is a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners and supplies software, design, supply chain, manufacturing, information technology and digital engineering services to customers in the defense, aerospace, space, government services, automotive, marine and industrial markets.
“We believe that acquiring Belcan will strengthen Cognizant’s position in the sizable and fast-growing ER&D services market,” said Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S.
“Belcan’s deep engineering capabilities and domain expertise across the aerospace & defense market will be complemented by Cognizant’s scale and own multi-decade digital engineering expertise, providing Belcan’s blue-chip client roster access to our advanced AI, Cloud and Data technologies,” Ravi added.
Chief Executive Lance Kwasniewski will continue to oversee Belcan, which will operate as a Cognizant unit under the same name.
Cognizant expects the acquisition to bring over $100 million in annual revenue synergies within three years and to be accretive to earnings per share in 2026.
Perella Weinberg Partners (Nasdaq: PWP) and Arnold & Porter respectively served as financial and legal advisers to Cognizant in the transaction.
Belcan’s financial advisers were Jefferies and Solomon Partners, while Kirkland & Ellis advised the company on the deal’s legal aspect.
