General Dynamics Acquisition of Arlington IT Company to Bring More Jobs to NOVA

Falls Church-based General Dynamics has agreed to acquire healthcare information-technology company Vangent, Inc. for $960 million.

The announcement of the acquisition was made Tuesday. Rob Doolittle, a spokesman for General Dynamics, said Vangent is a leader in the healthcare information-technology area and will be combined with the Fairfax-based General Dynamics Information Technology division. The combination will strengthen the division and bring more jobs to Northern Virginia, Doolittle said.

“We expect this to be a growth opportunity and bring more jobs,” Doolittle said in a telephone interview Wednesday morning. “This is a fast growing market.”

Doolittle said the acquisition will be complete by Oct. 1. He said there are no plans to move the Arlington-based Vangent to the Fairfax location. According to a Tuesday Washington Post story, Vangent has done a range of federal work, including processing many of the vouchers used in the federal “Cash for Clunkers” car-buying incentive program, but in recent years has focused on bolstering its health IT offerings. According to the Washington Post, Vangent established a health strategy group meant to help it capture federal work, and last year paid $65 million for Warrenton-based Buccaneer Computer Systems and Service, which has done work for the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Doolittle said the General Dynamics Information Technology, with the acquisition of Vangent, would have a primary market in the Federal-civilian area of healthcare infrastructure.