Orlando-based JHT Inc. — one of the area’s defense contractors specializing in simulation training — was acquired by Precise Systems Inc., a tech firm headquartered in Patuxent River, Maryland.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. A March 19 company news release said the transaction finalized Feb. 16.
Precise Systems executives couldn't be reached immediately for comment.
The acquisition means JHT will be able to reach more clients with training solutions, said JHT founder and CEO Jim Jardon in a prepared statement.
Precise Systems President and CEO Scott Pfister in a prepared statement said the acquisition will allow his company to scale. The move follows the November 2023 acquisition of another military contractor, Excet Inc. of Springfield, Virginia. The company did not reveal whether more acquisitions are on the way. Precise Systems is a subsidiary of Bluestone Investment Partners, a private equity firm investing exclusively in lower middle-market companies in the defense and government services sector.
The news release did not say whether Jardon or President and COO Carla Holoman will remain with the company long term. Jardon and Holomon still list their JHT titles as current on their LinkedIn accounts, but did not respond to OBJ inquiries by the time of publication.
JHT has made headlines in OBJ for years, as the company won major military contracts that created and sustained local jobs. For example, the U.S. Navy spent $6.9 million with JHT for a 2019 contract for a desktop simulator to train sailors on the operations and maintenance of the NATO Sea Sparrow Missile System. In 2021, JHT won a $6.6 million simulation development contract in support of the Navy E-6B aircraft training center in Tinker, Oklahoma.
The company also was one of Central Florida's largest privately held, fastest-growing companies in 2023, based on its annual revenue.
Jardon, a retired Air Force pilot, founded JHT in 1990. The business grew to 140 employees by 2023. Holomon told OBJ last year that good leadership and compensation had attracted recruits. Each new military contract triggers the hiring of 10-15 new staffers, she said.
The move follows the November 2023 acquisition of another military contractor, Excet Inc. of Springfield, Virginia.
JHT Inc.
- Address: 12501 Research Pkwy., Ste. 200, Orlando 32826
- Contact: (407) 381-7797; jht.com
- Employees: 140
- 2022 revenue: $13.9 million
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