Calian Group has agreed to acquire U.K.-based Mabway for up to $41 million in the Kanata firm’s third major announcement in the past few weeks.
Mabway is a leader in large-scale defence role-playing environments that simulate real-world operational environments, and provides technical engineering education for naval and maritime communities. The company has been a supplier to the British Army since 2012.
Mabway has several offices across the U.K., a workforce of more than 1,000 ex-military and civilian permanent staff and contractors, and services reaching into Europe and the Middle East.
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Calian CEO Kevin Ford said in a statement Friday that Mabway complements and expands Calian’s current solutions in the military training and simulation sector.
“This acquisition presents a great opportunity to leverage the capabilities of both companies to provide a more comprehensive range of solutions to military and defence customers globally,” said Ford. “And with the U.K. looking to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030, Calian will be well-positioned as a strategic partner supporting their operational readiness.”
According to the company, the acquisition supports Calian’s goal of becoming a premier global training and delivery partner for customers.
“Mabway’s strong position in the U.K. defence sector provides opportunities for us to introduce our immersive learning solutions to complement the solutions Mabway is delivering — and bring their capabilities into our solutions to support our growth objectives,” said Don Whitty, president of learning at Calian.
“We take our corporate culture seriously and share Calian’s values of integrity, teamwork, innovation, respect and customer commitment,” added Mabway co-owner Mark O’Reilly. “We are known for our unrelenting focus on providing mission-critical solutions for our customers and will be able to deliver even more effectively as part of the Calian team.”
Earlier this month, Calian announced a new deal worth up to $90 million with General Dynamics Missions Systems-Canada, which will see Calian provide IT and technical development services for General Dynamics’ communications and surveillance systems that serve the Canadian Army. It replaces a five-year contract between the companies for similar services that expires this year.
A few days earlier, Calian announced it had landed a deal with the Canadian Armed Forces to develop medical training programs. The agreement is worth $17 million over three years, with an option to extend it for an additional year that could push its total value to $23 million.
Calian has four divisions that specialize in IT, health care, training and advanced technology. In February, it reported revenues of $179.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, up from $147.5 million a year earlier.