The private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners on Monday said it has merged three companies that serve the defense and intelligence community markets into a new company called Polaris Alpha that provides mission-critical technology, software and solutions to its customers.

Polaris Alpha, which is a portfolio company of Arlington Capital, has over 1,000 employees and is expected to have more than $250 million in sales in 2017.

Peter Cannito, CEO of Polaris Alpha. A former officer in the Marine Corps, Cannito was chief operating officer of EOIR Technologies and then CEO when Arlington Capital acquired the company in June. Photo: EOIR Technologies
Peter Cannito, CEO of Polaris Alpha. A former officer in the Marine Corps, Cannito was chief operating officer of EOIR Technologies and then CEO when Arlington Capital acquired the company in June. Photo: EOIR Technologies

“Polaris will fill the void between niche players and prime contractors to deliver agile, sophisticated solutions to a growing number of government customers disillusioned with the traditional options available to them,” Michael Lustbader, a managing partner at Arlington Capital, said in a statement. “Polaris is a byproduct of the infusion of innovation into the national security sector and is contractually well positioned to capitalize on this market opportunity.”

Polaris Alpha was formed through the merger of Virginia-based EOIR Technologies, Colorado-based Intelligent Software Solutions, and Maryland-based PROTEUS Technologies. EOIR was acquired in June by Arlington Capital while ISS and PROTEUS are new transactions.

Terms of the merger were not disclosed.

Polaris will be led by CEO Peter Cannito, who previous was president and CEO of EOIR. Jay Jesse, who was co-founder and CEO of ISS, will be president of Polaris. Other executives leading the new company come from each of the predecessor companies.

Jesse said in a statement that the merger “has been years in the making and adds breadth and depth to our solutions in the space, intelligence, C2 and cyber domains.”

On its website, Polaris says it operates in five business areas: analysis and information systems; cyber and signals intelligence; and intelligence and combat information; mission solutions; and specialty engineering, prototyping and intelligence.

Polaris’ top customers are the Air Force, Army and intelligence community.