A little-known contractor whose hedge-fund parent last month appointed John Snow, former US treasury secretary, as its chairman is leading a strong push to win a multi-billion dollar military contract currently held by Halliburton.
IAP Worldwide Services – owned by Cerberus Capital Management, the New York-based hedge fund – is making what is being seen as a serious bid to win a chunk of a huge defence contract to provide logistical support to US troops in the field.
If it succeeds, the bid would transform IAP – once a relatively small government contractor with 5,000 employees and never regarded as a significant player before its 2004 takeover by Cerberus – into one of the most powerful and politically connected groups in the booming industry of providing food, shelter and support to the US army.