Enlightenment Capital Acquires IT Contractor Trowbridge & Trowbridge

Chevy Chase-based investment firm Enlightenment Capital expanded its technology offerings Monday with the acquisition of McLean-based government contractor Trowbridge & Trowbridge LLC.

The buy provides the firm — which takes stakes in and advises companies in the aerospace, defense and government sector — with a further foothold in the cloud computing and IT modernization market, following initial investments in security services companies earlier this year.

“Trowbridge will serve as the initial investment of a new Enlightenment platform, which will provide innovative solutions to government agencies seeking to modernize their IT systems and operations,” said Devin Talbott, managing partner of Enlightenment Capital, in a statement.

The designated women-owned small business contractor recently scored spots on the Chief Information Officer–Solutions and Partners 3 (CIO-SP3), a National Institutes of Health-administered governmentwide acquisition contract for IT services, and the Navy’s SeaPort NxG contract vehicle in January.

But it was the company’s array of technology services — running the gamut from cybersecurity and cloud to data center optimization and software-defined networking — that made it an attractive target to Enlightenment, the firm’s executives said.

“Trowbridge’s service offerings are integral to their customers, helping them develop and maintain IT systems required to enable the success of their missions,” said Jason Rigoli, a partner of Enlightenment Capital, in a statement. “We plan to continue to invest in the platform to drive growth — both organically and through [mergers & acquisitions].”

The terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed, but as a result, Trowbridge & Trowbridge Chief Operating Officer Cass Panciocco has been promoted to president and CEO of the firm, while its founder, Karen Trowbridge, will remain on the company’s board as a shareholder and strategic adviser.

“This partnership will greatly benefit our customers and employees by allowing us to pursue new opportunities and to continue developing innovative IT solutions for our customers,” Trowbridge said in a statement.

Trowbridge & Trowbridge LLC was one of Washington Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Companies of 2018 and 2017.