Houlihan Lokey Advises Solute

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that SOLUTE, Inc., has been acquired by Sigma Defense Systems LLC (Sigma Defense), a portfolio company of Sagewind Capital LLC (Sagewind). The transaction closed on December 3, 2021.

Founded in 2002 and based in San Diego, California, SOLUTE is a leading technology and engineering firm that specializes in system modernization with a focus on software engineering, cybersecurity, cloud architectures, and development security operations (DevSecOps) for the Department of Defense (DoD). Given the increasingly complex digital threat environment, software-defined capabilities are becoming increasingly important to large-scale defense system modernization efforts. SOLUTE has been at the forefront of the DoD’s strategic imperative to modernize software for key mission systems, including command and control (C2), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), autonomy, and communications systems, through the application of advanced capabilities in agile software development, DevSecOps, platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure automation. The company has deep relationships with customers across the U.S. Navy, including NAVSEA, NAVAIR, and NAVWAR, and holds several strategic prime contracts supporting the Navy’s Black Pearl program and the Forge Software Factory.

Headquartered in Perry, Georgia, Sigma Defense is a leading technology company focused on connecting critical systems and data in a multi-domain environment to achieve decision dominance. Sigma Defense’s acquisition of SOLUTE will enable the combined company to drive digital modernization throughout the DoD and offer a more expansive set of capabilities for C5ISR, Joint All-Domain Command Control (JADC2), and tactical communications.

Sagewind Capital LLC is a New York-based, middle-market private equity firm that partners with exceptional management teams and focuses on significant capital appreciation by helping businesses grow organically and through strategic acquisitions. Sagewind invests across several industries, including government services, aerospace and defense, software, information technology, healthcare, and business services.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor and marketed, structured, and negotiated the transaction on behalf of SOLUTE.