Arlington Capital Partners (“Arlington Capital” or “Arlington”), a Washington, DC-based private equity firm, today announced its investment in Octo Consulting Group, Inc. (“Octo” or “the Company”). Octo has more than 13 years of experience developing mission-critical solutions for the Federal Government across healthcare, national security, civilian and defense agencies. Octo’s specialized solutions for Agile software development, UI/UX, cloud, infrastructure, blockchain, and other emerging technologies support a wide variety of missions and empower agencies to modernize their aging infrastructures.
Michael Lustbader, a Managing Partner at Arlington Capital, said, “We have known Mehul and Bob for many years and have watched their success as they have grown and established Octo as the company it is today. Octo’s best-in-class software development capabilities, quality of customer relationships, and distinguished employee base present a highly attractive strategic investment opportunity for Arlington. We look forward to supporting Mehul and the entire management team through the Company’s next phase of growth as it builds on its exceptional track record solving the government’s most difficult challenges through innovation.”
“Octo’s continued exponential growth over the last several years gave us many lucrative acquisition alternatives. However, rather than pursue any alternatives that would exit the brand and legacy we have built, we chose to partner with Arlington, a private equity firm with a longstanding history of successful investments in the government services and technology sector,” said Mehul Sanghani, CEO of Octo. “We’ve had the unique privilege of continuing to establish Octo as one of the government market’s pre-eminent growth and next generation IT brands. Our strategic partnership with Arlington Capital not only establishes and cements the firm’s leadership team, it also provides the core capital needed to invest in human capital and technology to continue our growth. Our collective teams are well positioned to continue delivering the highest quality solutions to our customers while enhancing career opportunities for our employees. We plan to further accelerate our growth through strategic acquisitions, expanding our capabilities, and reaching new customers and markets.”
In concert with this announcement, Octo also named two new leadership executives that will help lead Octo during this period of growth and transition. Jay Shah, Executive Vice President of Octo’s Health Business Unit, has been named Octo’s new Chief Operating Officer (COO), taking over for Robert McCord who has served as President and COO since 2015.
“I am excited to be taking on this new role. Having been at Octo for 11 years, I have seen us go through all the inflection points as we matured into a large business, and I am confident in our ability to build on the successes we have achieved already,” said Shah. “Arlington’s investment provides us with an even greater ability to continue developing flexible solutions that help agencies meet their mission goals.”
“Arlington’s investment is a milestone moment for Octo,” said McCord. “Octo is in great hands with Jay as COO, and the strength and experience of the management team puts the firm in a great position for further success. While I’m taking some time away to be with my family, my confidence in Octo’s leadership team is why I’ve invested significantly in this recapitalization. I anticipate great things in Octo’s future.”
In connection with the transaction, Octo has recruited Pamela Rothka as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Rothka joins Octo from Buchanan & Edwards where she has served as CFO since 2015. She also has served in financial leadership positions at Whitney, Bradley & Brown, Hewlett-Packard, and Lockheed Martin. Her experience brings to Octo impressive federal contracting, M&A, and financial strategy experience within disciplined financial organizations.
Octo’s founder & CEO, Mehul Sanghani, remains a substantial shareholder in Octo, and the senior management team have all made substantial investments as part of the recapitalization. All will continue to lead Octo’s strategic growth initiatives in the future. Baird served as exclusive financial advisor to Octo on this transaction.
