About our Numbers

We asked investment bank Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin of McLean, Va., to compile a list of the mergers and acquisitions that closed during 2007. They collected the buyers and sellers who closed deals that were primarily in the defense and government services sector.

We gave that list to a panel of mergers and acquisition experts to pick the Top 10 deals of the year. They chose a total of 22 companies as finalists. During a conference call and further discussions, that list was winnowed to 10.

The deals were evaluated based on several factors including how the acquisition changed the company making the deal, the impact on the market, emergency of a new dealmaker, how the deal highlights trends in the market, overall size, closing multiple deals and the surprise factor.

Our panel of experts:

• John Allen, BB&T Capital Markets/Windsor Group
• Don Blair, Raymond James and Associates
• Craig Chason, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
• Dan Cornell, Stifel Nicolaus
• Larry Davis, Aronson Capital Partners
• Kerry Hall, Grant Thornton
• Bob Kipps, KipssDeSanto
• Mark Moore, M&T Bank
• Tom Peltier, Stifel Nicolaus
• Rob Rubin, National Capital Companies