By Kathryn Hardison


Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. said Thursday that it strongly disagrees with the antitrust lawsuit that the Department of Justice filed Wednesday to block the company's proposed acquisition of EverWatch Corp.

The DOJ filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Maryland, alleging that the merger would threaten competition for a government contract to provide operational modeling and simulation services to the National Security Agency.

A Booz Allen representative said that the proposed acquisition of EverWatch, valued at $440 million, would merge two companies with the ability to support national security interests and would "enhance competition overall in an industry that is highly competitive."

Booz Allen is the parent company of information technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. EverWatch, a subsidiary of EC Defense Holdings LLC, is a government solutions company focused on defense and intelligence work.

"Booz Allen believes the transaction would deliver significant benefits to our government clients and we refute any suggestion that the proposed transaction would harm government agencies or taxpayers," company spokeswoman Jessica Klenk said.

Shares of Booz Allen were 1.9% higher at $90.22.


Write to Kathryn Hardison at kathryn.hardison@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-30-22 1359ET