The Department of Defense worked overtime Friday, awarding 34 separate defense contracts in 24 hours. Total value: $1.46 billion. Among the publicly traded companies winning contracts, three firms -- soon to become one -- won contracts to keep the military fed and hydrated. Specifically:
- Sysco's (SYY 0.27%) Foodservice Alabama unit won a five-month prime vendor bridge contract worth up to $12.5 million to provide "food and beverage support" to U.S. Army and Air Force bases in Alabama and Florida through Aug. 30, 2014.
- Sysco's Eastern Maryland division won a separate prime vendor bridge contract, also five months in duration, but worth up to $21.4 million in value, to provide "food and beverage support" to U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps locations in Maryland through Aug. 30, 2014.
- Meanwhile, Sysco's soon-to-be subsidiary US Foods won its own five-month prime vendor bridge contract (worth $27.4 million) to provide food and beverage support to U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies in Georgia through Aug. 30, 2014.
In an unrelated contract, the Willbros Group (NYSE: WG) won a firm-fixed-price contract to perform "fuel services" for the U.S. Army through April 30, 2019. This five-year base contract has an estimated maximum value of $14.2 million to Willbros, although it may be extended by three succeeding five-year option periods, which would increase its value.
