TMMG receives private equity backing

TMMG, a provider of systems engineering and lifecycle asset management services to the Navy and Coast Guard, has accepted an investment from private equity firm Artinia Group to aid the company in the next phase of its strategy.

TMMG opened for business in 2008 as The McHenry Management Group and today employs roughly 300 people. The company touts its core focus areas as including naval architecture and marine engineering, weapons systems and integration, test and evaluation, training, logistics, and program management.

Artinia is partnering with Gemini Investors and True West Capital Partners to back TMMG, whose growth pursuits center around ship fleet readiness programs. Terms of the transaction announced Wednesday were not disclosed.

TMMG has recorded approximately $41.6 million in unclassified prime contract revenue over the trailing 12 months, according to USASpending.gov data. Navy work represents 91.6% of that spend and the Coast Guard makes up the remaining 8.4%.

“The investment provides a springboard to accelerate growth by expanding our team and capabilities so that we can remain at that forefront and better meet the needs of current and future customers and the defense community at large,” TMMG’s chief executive Rick Cunningham said in a release.

Gemini and True West are participating in this effort as licensees under the Small Business Innovation Company initiative, through which investors receive venture funding to then invest in small businesses via loans supported by the Small Business Administration.

SBIC investments are intended to return $2.00 back for every $1.00 that goes into designated small businesses. For TMMG, its receipt of this investment means the company can maintain its small business size status even as larger opportunities emerge.

Artinia primarily gears its investments toward family-owned and owner-operated businesses that operate in the lower middle market. Artinia is also an investor in Canvas, which provides engineering and technical services to U.S. defense agencies in areas such as missiles and hypersonic vehicles.