The Carlyle Group, a politically connected private equity underwriter (PEU), may soon own two military and intelligence government contractors. How might that improve the PEU's odds of landing key government consulting business?
Carlyle purchased Booz, Allen, Hamilton in July 2008. Bloomberg reported they may bid on Tasc, a division of Northrup Grumman. The reported selling price is $1 to $2 billion. History reveals an interesting connection.
Northrop acquired Tasc in 2001 when it bought Litton Industries Inc. for about $5 billion. Tasc, formerly called The Analytic Sciences Corp., was founded in 1966 by engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and now has almost 5,000 employees, according to its Web site.Northrup Grumman CEO Kent Kresa closed the 2001 purchase. He joined the Carlyle Group as Senior Adviser in November 2003. His most recent assignment? Remaking the GM board for the Obama administration.
Should Carlyle take on Tasc, in addition to slugging Booz, would it double its chances to tap Obama's black box kitty?
