Cobham Analytic Solutions (formerly

SPARTA, Inc. SPARTA Inc. AESO, A Parsons Company, (For a short time known as Cobham Analytic Solutions) is a United States defense contractor based in Lake Forest, California. It was started in 1979 and has more than 20 offices around the United States. The ac ...

) is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

defense contractor The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and serv ...

based in

Lake Forest, California Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 85,858 at the 2020 census. Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Prior to incorporation, the community had been known as El Toro. Following a vote in 20 ...

. It was started in 1979 and has more than 20 offices around the

. The acronym, SPARTA, stood for "Systems Planning Analysis Research and Technology Associates." Prior to its acquisition by

Cobham plc Cobham Limited is a British aerospace manufacturing company based in Bournemouth, England. Cobham was originally founded by Sir Alan Cobham as Flight Refuelling Limited (FRL) in 1934. During 1939, British airline Imperial Airways performed se ...

, SPARTA was unusual for a U.S. defense contractor in that it was publicly held but privately traded; it was more than 98% owned by its 1,300 employees. Employees were granted

stock option In finance, an option is a contract which conveys to its owner, the ''holder'', the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying asset or instrument at a specified strike price on or before a specified dat ...

s based on various criteria, including corporate profit and individual contribution to bringing in new business. Employees could sell stock back to the company when their options vested, at a price determined by a formula for valuing the company. Prior to the acquisition, some benefits and company procedures were decided upon by a council of employees which met annually. Slightly fewer than one third of the representatives to the council were elected by the employees. In June 2008, SPARTA was acquired by

for US$407 million."Cobham Completes Purchase of US Intelligence and Missile Defence Company"
, Cobham press release, 4 June 2008 It was renamed Cobham Analytic Solutions.

References

External links

SPARTA, Inc.
Defense companies of the United States Employee-owned companies of the United States Companies based in Lake Forest, California {{US-manufacturing-company-stub