ICF is acquiring Creative Systems and Consulting, a Salesforce, Microsoft and ServiceNow partner that provides IT consulting and digital transformation solutions to U.S. federal government agencies. The deal is expected to close before the end of 2021. Financial terms were not disclosed.
This is technology M&A deal number 781 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2021.
Creative Systems and Consulting, founded in 2010, will generate roughly $60 million in revenue in 2021 and will maintain a mid-teens revenue growth rate in 2022, ICF forecasts.
Creative's 270 employees focus on digital strategy, cloud and infrastructure solutions, customer experience and data analytics. The team holds more than 900 technical and platform certifications, including over 300 in Salesforce, over 50 in Microsoft and 160 in ServiceNow, the seller said. Those Creative experts complement ICF's existing ServiceNow and Appian capabilities, the buyer said.
ICF Acquires Creative Systems and Consulting: Executive Perspectives
In a prepared statement about the deal, ICF CEO John Wasson said:
"This transaction is aligned with our strategy of pairing organic growth with select acquisitions that strengthen ICF's position in key growth markets. Creative's expertise in cloud development considerably expands our qualifications in the federal IT modernization/digital transformation arena, and the company has delivered flagship work with many civilian agencies that have been long-standing clients of ICF, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Treasury. We expect this acquisition to provide significant opportunities for revenue synergies over time as ICF now will offer leading practices supporting the most highly adopted low-code/no-code platforms in the federal government. Importantly, the cultural fit is excellent, highlighted by a shared commitment to delivering value to clients while making a difference in the communities we serve."
Added Creative CEO Vanitha Khera:
"We are excited by the opportunity to join ICF and build on their strong digital transformation capabilities and leading platform partnerships. Together, we will offer an unparalleled portfolio of digital services along with our world-class domain expertise—from strategic advisory to analytics to platforms and agile delivery—as federal agencies work to generate scalable, more efficient and cost-effective outcomes."
ICF Business Growth and Company Positioning
ICF revenue was $394 million in Q3 of 2021, up 9 percent from Q3 of 2020. Also, service revenue rose 4 percent to $276 million.
The company, with 7,000 employees, positions itself as a global consulting and technology services provider. Key employee categories include analysts, policy specialists, technologists, researchers, digital strategists, social scientists and creatives.
