The Awardee Underwent a Corporate Transaction a Year Ago. Should the Agency Have Considered that Transaction When Evaluating Proposals?

How recent must a corporate transaction be for it to impact a proposal evaluation? In this protest, the protester argued the agency had failed to consider the impact of a corporate transaction on the awardee. But the transaction had occurred a year ago. GAO found that this transaction was too stale. The agency did not need to consider a transaction that occurred a year before the proposal deadline.

Management & Training Corporation, GAO B-420568, B-420568.2

The Department of Labor issued an RFP seeking services for operation of a jobs center. The agency received proposals from, among others, Management & Training Corporation (MTC) and Odle Management Group. The agency awarded the contract to Odle, finding its cheaper proposal represented the best value. MTC protested.

MTC alleged the agency had failed to consider a corporate transaction involving Odle. But GAO found that the transaction had occurred a year before the deadline for proposals. The resources Odle offered for the contract were not affected by the transaction and were available for performance. GAO dismissed this argument for failure to state a valid protest basis.

MTC also contended that none of Odle’s past performance references were relevant under the RFP—that is, none of them were of comparable size, scope, and complexity as the work contemplated by the RFP. GAO read MTC as arguing that the agency had waived the RFPs past performance requirements. If this were the case, however, MTC had not been prejudiced by the waiver. The record showed that MTC had submitted 17 past performance references but only three of those references had been comparable to the RFP’s requirement. Thus, MTC had not been harmed—and in fact had benefited—from the alleged waiver.

MTC is represented by Alex P. Hontos of Dorsey & Whitney LL. The intervenor, Odle, is represented by Jacob A. Harrison, William B. O’Reilly, Isaac D. Schabes, and Jacob A. Harrison of Crowell & Moring LLP. The agency is represented by Jose Otero, Jonathan Pomerance, and Robert Proudfoot of the Department of Labor. GAO attorneys Scott H. Riback and Tania Calhoun participated in the preparation of the decision.

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