Cloud hosting outfit iomart has moved to bolster its hybrid cloud credentials by acquiring Microsoft Azure specialist Extrinsica Global.
LSE-listed iomart will pay up to £11.3m for the Oxford-based outfit, which has 33 staff and focuses solely on Azure public cloud.
Operating 13 datacentres in the UK, iomart is not the only hosting provider that has moved to add more public cloud skills as the market moves towards hybrid cloud. Rival Node4 has acquired Microsoft partners Tisski, Risual and TNP in recent months.
Extrinsica was invited by Microsoft to become one of the first 25 Microsoft Azure CSP partners worldwide in 2017.
Iomart said the deal will bring it “deep Microsoft Azure expertise” which “aligns fully” with its secure hybrid cloud strategy.
It will stump up £4m for the firm, initially, with a further £0.4m in cash payable if certain customer targets are hit this year.
A further £4m-£7m in earn-out payments are up for grabs for Extrinsica’s owners based on the firm’s profitability in the year to 31 March 2024.
Iomart saw revenues fall 8% to £103m in 2022.
Its CEO Reece Donovan hailed the deal as a “meaningful step in our strategy as we position the group for its next phase of growth as a leading secure hybrid cloud business”.
“We are delighted to welcome the Extrinsica team to iomart, providing a large step forward in iomart’s capabilities to support existing and new customers in their use of Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform,” Donovan said.
