Servium’s freshly announced acquisition by Advania is one of the most eye-catching UK channel partner takeovers of the year so far.
But is it the biggest?
Here we count down some of the mightiest trade and PE acquisitions of UK resellers and MSPs of the year so far on our radar, going by the revenue (and in one case headcount) of the acquired company.
10. Equity Networks acquired by Coniston Capital
When: April
Magnitude
SMB-focused Microsoft, Gamma and ConnectWise partner Equity Networks has revenues of around £7m and 50 staff, it told us.
Rationale
Platform acquisitions of UK MSPs by private equity firms have been noticeably thinner on the ground over the last 12-18 months.
Equity Networks became one of the notable exceptions when it enlisted Coniston in April to help it “execute on the next phase of acquisitions”.
The Hemel Hempstead-based outfit has already closed one small purchase since the investment, with two more in the pipeline already, Co-MD Alex Hall told IT Channel Oxygen.
What the MD said
“My business partner Marcos [Reid] and I had been on a self-financed M&A roll up over the past eight years, but eventually ran out of capital and were approached by Coniston, who were seeking an MSP platform investment. It’s going to liberate us to pursue a more aggressive M&A rollup over the next five years. We’re currently at £7m and plan to get to £30m revenue over the next five years. Their capital and expertise is going to be an enabler to getting there,” Alex Hall
Fun fact
Former Alternative Networks CEO Edward Spurrier joined Equity Networks as Non-Executive Chairman at the time the Coniston deal was announced.
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