AURELIUS has become the latest private equity house to invest in IT distribution, acquiring Exertis IT for an enterprise value of around £100m.
Part of DCC Technology, Exertis IT turned over £2bn in its latest year and includes most of Exertis’ UK&I business.
The move comes after DCC Technology’s FTSE 100 parent, DCC Group, put the business up for sale in November as part of wider plans to focus on its energy business.
What’s included in the deal?
The deal is for Exertis IT – in other words DCC Technology’s Info Tech businesses in the UK and Ireland.
DCC said the divested business, which ranked third in IT Channel Oxygen’s Must Know IT Distributors 2024, recorded revenues of around £2bn.
Businesses in scope comprise Exertis UK Business and Consumer, Hypertec, Exertis Supplies, Exertis Ireland, Macro EV, Exertis Supply Chain Services, MTR and Ztorm.
The deal does not include DCC Technology’s ‘Pro Tech’ audio visual business, which is principally based in North America.
Neither does it include Exertis Enterprise or Exertis Nordics.
“Committed to accelerating our growth”
Talking to IT Channel Oxygen last November, Exertis IT CEO Tim Griffin characterised private equity as being “very open” as a potential buyer.
“You don’t have to look too far back in time to when both Tech Data and Ingram attracted private equity, and they did very nicely out of it,” Griffin said at the time, referring to Apollo and Platinum Equity’s recent involvement with Exertis’ two global rivals, respectively.
In a statement this morning, Griffin said Exertis IT is “delighted to have found new owners who are committed to accelerating our growth, and that of our partners through dedicated focus and investment”.
“I firmly believe this sale positions Exertis IT for long-term success and provides greater opportunities for our vendors, customers and our people. It’s business as usual for us providing an exceptional portfolio and industry-leading operations,” he said.
DCC Group CEO Donal Murphy concurred, claiming that AURELIUS will drive “further operational and financial improvement” for the distributor.
Talking to IT Channel Oxygen, Dave Stevinson, CEO of QBS Software, said: “I would say this is a logical buyer, and probably the right buyer at this stage in Exertis’ journey.
“AURELIUS have a track record for driving value through operational and structural change.”
DCC Technology said it can now “fully focus” on building its specialist businesses in Pro Tech and Life Tech. This comprises the North American JAM and Almo businesses, Exertis Enterprise and Cloud in the UK, and specialist AV and infrastructure businesses in Europe with Connect, Azenn, Amacom, AV DACH, AV Italy, Exertis Nordics and AV Spain.
“Today’s announcement represents an important step for DCC Technology as we sharpen our focus on Pro Tech and Life Tech. DCC Technology is the largest specialist professional AV distributor globally, serves numerous Pro Tech specialisms in North America and Europe, and has a complementary position in high-quality Life Tech products,” stated Clive Fitzharris, CEO of DCC Technology.
The transaction, which is subject to regulatory clearance, is set to close in Q4.
