Big Impact Deals of 2007

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Updated 3:35 PM EST July 24

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No. 6

Buyer:CACI International Inc.

Seller:Athena Innovative Solutions Inc., Dragon Development Corp., Institute for Quality Management Inc. and Wexford Group International

Price:$200 million for Athena, not available for the others

Closing date:Oct. 31 for Athena, Nov. 2 for Dragon Development, May 31 for Institute for Quality Management, July 2 for Wexford Group

Adviser:Jefferies Quarterdeck for Athena, Aronson for Institute for Quality Management, and Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin for Dragon Development.

Why it's a big deal: Even with a new chief executive officer, CACI still closed four acquisitions in 2007. The Athena purchase is one of the largest the company has undertaken and fits nicely with CACI’s defense and intelligence business. CACI continues to be a strong strategic buyer in the market.

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How We Got Our Numbers

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

2007 Mergers and Aquisitions

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