Abt Global, a multinational tech-focused consulting and research firm based in Rockville, has acquired TSPi, a Reston IT company that builds low- to no-code software tools for federal agencies.
The deal, which closed last week, could boost Abt Global's revenue by $100 million this year, CEO Kathleen Flanagan told me. That's about 15% above the $650 million Abt Global pulled in last year. It will also add about 400 employees to Abt's workforce, bringing the company's global headcount to around 3,900 people.
Flanagan declined to disclose the acquisition price but said the deal will accelerate one of Abt's key initiatives: helping public-sector agencies modernize their IT systems.
"It's really a capability story," Flanagan said. "Instead of subcontracting out as Abt might have done, now we're bringing it in-house to really significantly expand our digital capability and technology capability, which is what we were very focused on over the last couple of years as we looked for opportunities."
TSPi will remain an independent division of Abt and it will keep its Reston headquarters and other offices in the U.S. where Abt has none. Vishal Suri, who founded TSPi in 2001 and was the only CEO in the company's history, has been named chief strategy and growth officer for the TSPi division and will report directly to Flanagan.
Abt Global works with governments, nonprofits, academic institutions and foundations to find data-based approaches to challenges like how to combat infectious diseases, increase crop yields and promote affordable housing. The 60-year-old company, which relocated its headquarters from Massachusetts to Maryland a few years ago, had been known as Abt Associates until earlier this year when it rebranded to reflect its global reach. Abt has business operations in about 50 countries.
Flanagan said negotiations to acquire TSPi began in October, when she and Suri met for breakfast at a Tatte Bakery and Cafe. She said the two focused on how TSPi works closely with chief information officers at agencies like the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help themmake better use of their data. Abt had been doing this in the U.S. on a small scale and Flanagan said it just made more sense to acquire a company with this capability rather than build from within.
"It's hard to organically build a capability and invest in it and make it as agile as it needs to be," she said.
