The private equity firm AE Industrial Partners (AEI) on Thursday said it has acquired the defense engineering and technical services firm Gryphon Technologies, which will be combined with the government services business CDI Corp., which was acquired by AEI in Sept. 2017.

CDI Corp., which is based in Philadelphia and was a publicly traded company, said AEI purchased it for about $157.5 million. Deal terms for Gryphon, which is based in Washington, D.C., were not disclosed.

CDI's engineering business provides wiring harnesses and cable assemblies. Photo: CDI
CDI’s engineering business provides wiring harnesses and cable assemblies. Photo: CDI

Both CDI Government Services and Gryphon provide engineering and technical services to the Navy for the full life-cycle of products. Gryphon does a lot of work on aircraft carriers and large ships while CDI has a strong presence on small boats, amphibious ships, and in maintenance, repair and overhaul services. CDI also provides aviation engineering services and contract manufacturing.

Combined, Gryphon and CDI Government Services have about 1,200 employees.

“The opportunity to partner with AEI, given its expertise in the defense industry, will help further accelerate our growth,” P.J. Braden, founder and CEO of Gryphon Technologies, said in a statement. “Combining our company with CDI Government Services will expand our team and capabilities, allow us to better serve our existing customers, as well as reach new customers.”

For the Gryphon deal, Gryphon’s financial adviser was SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and AEI was advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers. For the CDI deal, Lincoln International advised AEI and CDI was advised by Houlihan Lokey.