DOJ sues to block Booz Allen’s EverWatch acquisition
Summary
The Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit to block Booz Allen Hamilton’s planned acquisition of Reston, Virginia-based government cybersecurity contractor EverWatch. McLean, Virginia-based Booz Allen, the largest government IT contractor in the D.C. region, announced plans to acquire EverWatch in March for an undisclosed sum. The merger would expand Booz Allen’s national cybersecurity work for software development and analytics, and its workforce with the highest security clearances. Booz Allen and EverWatch are the only competing bidders for an NSA contract for signals intelligence, a surveillance-gathering method of intercepting communications. “Booz Allen’s agreement to acquire EverWatch imperils competition in a market that is vital to our national security,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s antitrust division.