BTG acquires Research Planning

In an effort to exploit a business relationship that complements its existing focus, government systems integrator BTG Inc. announced Monday that it has acquired Research Planning Inc., a privately held, professional services company.

RPI provides services in defense programs, emergency management, range technology and base support to customers in the Defense Department and civilian agencies, state governments and businesses. RPI has more than 400 employees, mostly based in the Washington, D.C., area.

More than 90 percent of RPI's employees hold security clearances, which are critical to meeting the requirements of many of the contracts held by both RPI and BTG, said Ed Bersoff, BTG's president and chief executive officer. The two firms serve many of the same customers, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U.S. Special Operations Command and the Justice Department.

But RPI expands BTG's customer base with its work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as in the State, Energy, and Health and Human Services departments.

BTG has more than 1,400 employees nationwide and specializes in intelligence systems, knowledge management, and information and network security.

Under the terms of the agreement, BTG paid $9 million in cash to acquire all of RPI's outstanding shares.

"This is a solidification for us," Bersoff said. "There's the complementary work we do in the defense intelligence community. Plus they have nice state, local and civilian projects — like their work at FEMA — that are really allied with what we're trying to do. There's a very complementary relationship here, and we're trying to exploit that."

Bersoff said RPI's experience and customer base expand the services BTG offers because:

Both companies support high-level consulting and analysis services, modeling and simulation, engineering and technical support, enterprise management, and logistics and training. RPI's range technology and base support divisions provide expertise in sea and land-based threat systems. RPI's Emergency Management Division helps prepare government agencies for natural, technological and man-made disasters, and acts of terrorism.