The Carlyle Group announced that it has entered into an agreement to invest in PA Consulting Group for a 51% stake, valuing the London-based consulting and technology firm at $1 billion.  PA employs over 2,500 people globally, and has expertise in energy and utilities, financial services, health, life sciences, consumer and manufacturing, government, defense and security, transport, and logistics.  The company generated 2014 revenues of approximately $550 million.    

According to the company's press release: "The partnership with Carlyle will enable PA to build on this success and to accelerate its growth plan through geographic expansion and the acquisition of consultant teams and smaller firms. Importantly, the investment will allow PA to retain independence, alongside current culture, brand and values. The continued share ownership by PA employees is a key feature of the transaction."

The transaction is expected to close in December 2015 subject to regulatory and pension approvals.  

The Carlyle Group and The Chertoff Group have acquired a majority stake in Coalfire Systems, Inc., a cybersecurity-focused firm that specializes in cyber risk advisory, compliance assessments, technical testing and software services for commercial and government clients.  The company's 300 employees in the United States and United Kingdom serve clients in sectors including technology, retail, payments, healthcare, financial services, education, government, and utilities.  While not publicly disclosed, we estimate annual revenues exceed $30M.

Latham & Watkins and PricewaterhouseCoopers served as advisors to Carlyle.  Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel to The Chertoff Group.  Portico Capital Securities LLC and Cooley LLP served as legal counsel to Coalfire.  Deal terms were not announced.

SageNet has augmented its own cybersecurity offerings by acquiring the cybersecurity division of Turnberry Solutions, Inc., which provides a suite of cybersecurity solutions and services including security strategy, security assessments, audit and compliance assessments, risk management, cloud security, security intelligence, e-discovery, managed security programs, virtual CISO services, and managed security operations.  

As part of the deal, SageNet and Turnberry Solutions entered into a strategic agreement in which SageNet will be the preferred supplier of cybersecurity solutions to Turnberry, and Turnberry will provide IT staffing solutions to SageNet clients.  Deal terms were not disclosed.