BAE Systems to buy Bohemia Interactive Simulations

BAE Systems plans to expand its simulation training portfolio by acquiring Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim), the UK-based buyer announced on 11 November.

BAE said it will gain “high-fidelity, cost-effective” tools that are based on the latest video game technology. Hundreds of thousands of US and allied military personnel use BISim's Virtual Battlespace (VBS) software products each year, according to US private equity firm The Riverside Company, which has owned BISim since 2013.

BAE and BISim have already worked together, as BISim is a member of a BAE-led team that is developing the new US Marine Corps Wargaming and Analysis Center at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.

Founded in 2001, BISim is based in Orlando, Florida, and has more than 325 employees in the United States and elsewhere, including Australia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom.

BAE said it will conduct activities to complete the transaction, including seeking regulatory approval, “over the coming months”. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The announcement follows BAE's acquisition of UK small satellite manufacturer In-Space Missions for an initial sum of about GBP13 million (USD18 million) in September. The In-Space Missions purchase is “in line with our strategy to increase R&D investment and to seek bolt-on acquisitions to augment our existing technology base”, BAE said in an 8 November market update.