Insights

May 22, 2026: A Crowell & Moring team represented Kanders & Company in a complex carveout transaction in which Kanders acquired the biosecurity business of publicly traded Ginkgo Bioworks. The resulting company, Perimeter Systems, has launched as the world’s first integrated biosecurity infrastructure platform, designed to transform biological signals into real-time intelligence and accelerate decisive response. At closing, Perimeter secured $60 million in growth capital, led by Kanders in partnership with SCS Financial, Goldcrest Capital, Four Cities Capital, and the Safe Artificial Intelligence Fund (SAIF).

Washington – July 1, 2025: A Crowell & Moring team represented Parsons Corporation in its $89 million acquisition of Chesapeake Technology International, a defense technology firm known for its advanced capabilities supporting all-domain operations and the Indo-Pacific Command.

On May 7, 2026, the Department of War issued the long-awaited Proposed Rule to implement Section 847 of the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) regarding Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) requirements for contractors. The proposed rule would expand the applicability of FOCI reviews, requiring contractors and subcontractors on unclassified “covered contracts” — defense contracts and subcontracts valued in excess of $5 million that are not for commercial products and services — to submit FOCI disclosures to the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) for FOCI risk assessment (and as applicable, mitigation) as part of contract award. This would effectively require DCSA assessment and adjudication of FOCI considerations prior to contract award. Thus, both cleared and uncleared defense contractors would be subject to the rigorous DCSA disclosure requirements, scrutiny, and FOCI mitigation. Crowell discussed the Section 847 requirements in a prior alert.

On April 13, 2026, President Trump signed into law the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, which reauthorized the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.  These programs are Small Business Administration-sponsored initiatives intended to encourage small business contractors to conduct early-stage research and development (R&D) and help foster technological innovation related to U.S. government needs across several federal agencies, including the Department of War, Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and National Institutes of Health.  SBIR/STTR are sometimes referred to as “America’s Seed Fund.”  Consistent with that characterization, SBIR contractors performing in the defense and technology space are often the focus of venture capital and private equity interest and investment.

On August 22, 2025, the Small Business Administration (SBA) published a proposed rule that would raise the receipts-based small business size standards across 259 industries and the asset-based size standard across 4 industries. The proposed rule aims to provide greater opportunity for growing small businesses to retain their small business status longer and continue to benefit from SBA loan programs and federal contracting opportunities reserved for small businesses.