General Dynamics Inc., a Falls Church-based
defense contractor, bought two Northern Virginia information
technology firms. Anteon International Corp. of
Fairfax, a noted federal contractor, was bought for
$2.1 billion in cash, plus $100 million of net debt.
General Dynamics also bought FC Business Systems
Inc., a Fairfax IT firm with expected sales of
$150 million in 2005. The moves advance General Dynamics' desire
to bolster its position in the government technology
services market. (The Washington Post)
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. of Chicago acquired Collegiate
Funding Services Inc., a Fredericksburg-based
provider of student financial aid services, for $663
million. Chase plans to launch an education financial
services business headed by J. Barry Morrow,
president and CEO of Collegiate Funding. (PR Newswire)
John H. Frischkorn Jr. Inc., a Richmond distributor
of pipes, values and fittings, agreed to a merger with Ferguson
Enterprises of Newport News. Ferguson, a wholesaler
of plumbing equipment, is a division of Wolsely PLC.
Frischkorn was started in 1934 by John H. Frischkorn
Jr. and has a work force of 214 in the mid-Atlantic
and Southeast regions. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Goodman & Company LLP, a Virginia Beach-based
accounting firm, merged with Strickland and Shuler
PC, a CPA firm headquartered in Hampton Roads. (Press
release)