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Teaneck-headquartered technology firm Cognizant announced June 10 it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Belcan LLC. The deal would add the global supplier of engineering research & development services for approximately $1.3 billion in cash and stock.   

Belcan is a Cincinnati-based portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners. It provides design, software, manufacturing, supply chain, information technology and digital engineering services for customers across the commercial aerospace, defense, space, marine and industrial verticals. Belcan primarily serves North America and the U.K. 

Cognizant said the deal will significantly expand its access to the approximately $190 billion ER&D services market, build upon its leadership in the Internet of Things (IoT) and digital engineering practice areas, and establish a leadership position in the fast-growing aerospace and defense industry. 

Cognizant also said it expects the acquisition will deliver more than $100 million in annual revenue synergies within three years. 

The deal is expected to close in the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2024, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. 

From the leadership

“We believe that acquiring Belcan will strengthen Cognizant’s position in the sizable and fast-growing ER&D services market,” Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S said in a statement. “Belcan’s deep engineering capabilities and domain expertise across the aerospace & defense market will be complemented by Cognizant’s scale and own multi-decade digital engineering expertise, providing Belcan’s blue-chip client roster access to our advanced AI, Cloud and Data technologies.”   

If the deal is approved, Belcan CEO Lance Kwasniewski will continue to lead the team of more than 6,500 engineers and technical consultants. The company will also continue under the Belcan name as an operating unit of Cognizant. 

Kwasniewski added that his team was excited about the move. 

“Cognizant will better position our team to capitalize on compelling tailwinds, including increasing outsourced ER&D spend, the transformative impact of digital engineering adoption rates, robust commercial aerospace demand, and favorable long-term defense and space spending,” he said. 

Perella Weinberg Partners served as financial advisor and Arnold & Porter served as legal advisor to Cognizant. Jefferies and Solomon Partners acted as financial advisors and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor to Belcan. 

In December, Cognizant also announced plans to acquire Thirdera for an undisclosed amount. The ServiceNow partner, based in Broomfield, Colo., specializes in workflow solutions.