E-Newsletter
Fairfax County E-Bird for June 18, 2019
Hot off the press: The latest edition of the Fairfax Leader is available on the FCEDA web site. Check out this recap of major business-related events from the second quarter of 2019, the largest commercial real estate leases new to the county and our Company Spotlights.
It’s about space: Herndon-based Peraton, a provider of software and technology services to national security clients, will acquire Arlington, Va.-based IT solutions firm Solers. Peraton said the purchase will strengthen its space portfolio and technical capabilities for clients across both national security and civilian space agency programs. Carten Cordell of the Washington Business Journal notes that Peraton also bought Reston-based communications infrastructure firm Strategic Resource International this April.
North American success story: In a story for subscribers of the Washington Business Journal, Sara Gilgore reports about Greenbrook TMS, a Tysons-based company that raised $20 million to treat depression, then went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange. CEO Bill Leonard tells Gilgore that his company wasn’t quite large enough for the NASDAQ, so crossing the border was the only way it could raise enough money to fund its transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy. Since going public, Greenbrook has raised the equivalent of $44 million in U.S. dollars. The company employs 200 in the U.S., about half of them in the D.C. region.
Key addition: IIA Technologies, a Tennessee-based company with strategic development offices in Tysons, acquired KeyLogic Systems, a Morgantown, WV.-based federal IT provider. IIA Technologies provides analytics, data management and technology tools to federal agencies, while KeyLogic offers R&D tech management, data analysis, system engineering, cloud implementation, and biometrics tools to multiple government agencies. Citybizlist reports that The McLean Group, led by its Aerospace, Defense & Government Services practice, advised KeyLogic during the sale.
A sporting chance: MTX Wealth Management, a Reston-based financial and investment advisory firm, has been acquired by Cleveland-based MAI Capital Management. According to Katishi Maake of the Washington Business Journal, MAI plans to create a dedicated division called MAI Sports, focused on supporting athletes, coaches and sports professionals. MTX already serves 86 families and 10 small businesses that include professional athletes and entertainers.
Leading entrepreneurs: Ernst & Young LLP bestowed Entrepreneur of the Year designation on several local business leaders last week, including Bob Eisiminger, president and CEO of Reston-based Knight Point Systems, and that company’s COO Doug Duenkel. Also honored were Promod Sharma, president and CEO of Tysons-based Criterion Systems and Chris Spanos, co-founder and CEO of Urgent.ly, a Tysons-based roadside assistance platform. The Washington Business Journal’s Tate Mikkelsen reports that Mid-Atlantic Region winners become eligible for national awards to be announced in November.
Buffed up venue: Private equity real estate company KBS enhanced the Willow Oaks Corporate Center in Fairfax and the refurbished office park is attracting new tenants. Michael O’Connor of Virginia Business reports that Fairfax Radiological signed on for 23,829 square feet, Right at Home, an in-home health care provider for the elderly and disabled as well as infrastructure engineering firm Hardesty & Hanover will also take space. KBS bought the office park in 2009 for $112 million and Renovations have included a 3,000-square-foot café, landscaping and upgrades to restrooms.
Tru value: SunTrust and BB&T, expected to have their merger finalized this year, announced last week they’d selected the name “Truist” for their new banking institution. But Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Truliant Federal Credit Union has filed a trademark infringement suit claiming the name is likely to cause confusion. According to the Business Journal’s Margaret Moffett, Truliant also holds trademarks on multiple words and phrases that include “Tru” including Truguidance, #TruCommunity and Truceratops.
Farm fresh additions: Gladstone Land Corp. of Tysons acquired 542 gross acres of farmland in Yolo County, California, for about $9.2 million. The farm includes a 482-acre olive orchard. In a separate purchase, Gladstone also added two blueberry farms with processing facilities near South Haven, Mich. for $7.8 million. Citybizlist carried both reports.
Notable contract wins by firms in Fairfax County
- Boeing received a potential five-year, $6.53 billion contract modification to continue providing the U.S. Air Force with Joint Direct Attack Munition tail kits. GovConWire
- Harris picked up a second production order to supply the U.S. Army with tactical radio systems as part of a potential 10-year, $12.7 billion contract awarded in 2016. GovConWire
Upcoming Business Events
- June 26: Access to Success Multicultural Business Conference — Roadmap to Resources. Free event designed to provide practical knowledge to small, women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned businesses. Presented by the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity. Click here.
- June 26: No Pressure Prospecting: Techniques to improve sales performance. Part of the Business Education Series presented by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce. Click here.
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June 26: Wheels Up — the Canadian Market Awaits: First in a series of events focusing on the Canadian market and the opportunities it presents for area businesses. Presented by the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce. Click here.