CACI to acquire space tech outfit for $2.6B
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By
Ross Wilkers
The purchase of Arka Group represents the largest-ever by CACI International, which is adding more space-based sensor systems and hardware.
CACI International has agreed to acquire Arka Group, a maker of space-based sensors including optical units, for approximately $2.6 billion to accelerate the buyer’s footprints across national security and space-based intelligence programs.
Founded in 2008, Arka specializes in space-based sensor systems and hardware for use by Space Force and agencies in the intelligence community. Arka’s tech portfolio includes remote sensing payloads, electro-optical/infrared optical systems, sensor data processing tools, and other optical technologies such as laser warning systems and directed energy components.
The all-cash transaction announced Monday represents CACI’s largest-ever purchase. All parties involved expect to complete the move in the first quarter of calendar year 2026, which is the third quarter of CACI’s fiscal 2026.
Arka is a portfolio company of Blackstone, the global private investment giant that first backed the company in 2019 and completed a follow-on investment in the next year.
Roughly 1,000 Arka employees will join CACI through this transaction and 315 of them are software engineers. CACI estimates Arka’s financial contribution over the next 12 months to be roughly $650 million in revenue and $145 million in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), according to an investor presentation.
That presentation also includes CACI’s description of Arka’s revenue mix by customer. Half of that sales profile is “non-disclosed,” indicating the largely-secretive nature of Arka’s work.
U.S. defense and intelligence agencies represent 24% of that mix with a roughly even split between both sets, while defense primes are another 14% and “Others” at 12%.
For CACI, its pact to purchase Arka represents the latest foray into space tech and follows the $1.2 billion acquisition of Azure Summit Technology in late 2024. That was also a record price for CACI at the time, while the Arka transaction is double that amount.
CACI’s history of acquisitions with at least one eye on space includes the buys of SA Photonics in 2021, LGS Innovations and Mastodon both in 2019, and Six3 Systems in 2013.
Wells Fargo acted as exclusive financial adviser for CACI and provided committed financing for the transaction. Gibson Dunn acted as legal adviser for CACI. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Evercore acted as financial advisers for Arka. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal adviser for Arka.