The channel services space continues its march toward seeking more growth opportunities through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Since Channel Insider’s last M&A update, more companies have advanced their business strategies to deliver improved services to their clients.
Varying factors drive M&As in the MSP industry, including the unique challenges that consolidation brings. However, the number of acquisitions in the managed service provider space continues to trend upwards since 2020.
Thoma Bravo acquires Darktrace
Leading software investment firmThoma Bravo recently acquired Darktrace plc, a global cybersecurity AI company, in an all-cash acquisition.
CEO of Darktrace Jill Popelka said that the acquisition would further scaling and innovation for the company, and that Thoma Bravo’s strategic and sector expertise will “be a powerful combination.”
“Darktrace holds a unique position at the forefront of cybersecurity technology,” said Seth Boro, Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo. “Our ambition is to help the business scale to be a truly global player, expanding the team’s innovative pipeline of development opportunities and capabilities for its customers. We are excited to work alongside Jill and the Darktrace team to build on their success, supporting their ambitions to protect the world from the most advanced cyber threats.”
Davenforth acquires TeleCloud and Third Generation
In an effort to launch a managed IT, voice, and network platform, Davenforth has acquired TeleCloud, a business communications company, and telecommunications service provider Third Generation.
The resulting acquisitions will see Davenforth’s new platform serving 21,500 users across 900 businesses. The companies will maintain their independent operations, with existing leadership teams remaining in place to maintain consistency and to preserve each organization’s strengths.
Davenforth is building a platform of companies that deliver cloud communication, connectivity, and managed services to small, medium, and enterprise-level business customers. This acquisition aims to scale both Third Generation and TeleCloud “to the next level.”
“This collaboration marks a significant milestone, allowing us to enhance our service offerings and empower our team members to reach new heights,” said TeleCloud Founder Rusty Bridges. “We deeply appreciate Davenport’s support and commitment and we look forward to the transformative impact this partnership will bring.”
CoreX acquires ITS Partners
CoreX, a ServiceNow consultancy firm, has made the first move of a strategic acquisition journey over the next six to twelve months by acquiring ITS Partners, a company with operational technology, IT asset management, and security operations expertise.
This move strengthens CoreX’s position in the ServiceNow ecosystem and adds industry expertise and high-impact functional offerings powered by AI. CoreX will leverage ITS’s proven solutions with CoreX’s executive leadership and resources to reimagine AI-enabled business transformation for the ServiceNow market.
“[This] announcement represents a significant leap forward in our mission to become the leading boutique ServiceNow consultancy across the globe,” said Rick Wright, CoreX CEO and former Global Leader of ServiceNow Customer Outcomes. “ITS’s deep platform expertise, industry knowledge, and global reputation for excellence in OT and ITAM perfectly complement our strengths.”
Presidio acquires Internetwork Engineering
IT service provider Presidio has acquired Internetwork Engineering (IE), a North Carolina-based MSP. IE offers custom technology solutions, consulting, and operational services to mid-market customers in the southeast US.
The move boosts Presidio’s geographic presence in the region and provides opportunities for growth for both organizations.
“Joining Presidio enhances our organization’s technology depth with an immediate opportunity to offer more cloud-based services and consumption, managed services, and cybersecurity,” said Chuck Steiner, CEO of Internetwork Engineering. “IE bolsters Presidio’s geographic presence and scale, delivering organizational benefits to both companies. We’re excited to join forces and for the opportunities ahead for us.”
Commvault acquires Clumio
In what is being described by Commvault as “perfectly timed,” the cyber resilience and data protection firm acquired Clumio, a data backup provider.
Clumio provides protection for cloud data in AWS and will help bolster Commvault’s AWS offerings, particularly around Amazon S3 and DynamoDB. Clumio will complement Commvault’s existing cyber resilience tools for software built on AWS, says Commvault CEO Sanjay Mirchandani.
“At Clumio, our vision was to build a platform that could scale quickly to protect the world’s largest and most complex data sets,” said Clumio co-founder Poojan Kumar, who was recently appointed chairman at Clumio after stepping down as CEO in June. “Joining hands with Commvault allows us to get our cloud-native offerings to AWS customers on a global scale.”
The 20 acquires iCoreConnect
The 20 MSP has recently acquired iCoreConnect’s managed IT services division. The acquisition will see the cloud-based software and technology company expand The 20’s market availability across the US.
With this move, The 20 intends to provide specialized IT services within the health care sector and “start zeroing in on more specific goals and targets.”
“When it comes to tailored managed IT services and solutions to the unique demands of healthcare providers, iCoreIT is at the forefront of things,” The 20 founder Tim Conkle said. “Bringing them on board puts us in a very exciting position to give clients operating in that world a distinct competitive edge with tools and solutions crafted with their exact pain points and workflows in mind. We’re talking about delivering industrial-leading innovation, security, and compliance services to a sector that critically needs help with these things.”
Xerox acquires ITsavvy
Xerox Holdings Corporation has acquired Illinois-based provider of integrated IT products and associated services, ITsavvy. The acquisition will support the company’s commitment to expanding its IT Services business, while also bringing innovative solutions to Xerox clients’ workplaces.
“As part of our Reinvention, we have created a greater organizational focus on our emerging IT Services capabilities to diversify our revenue streams in the geographies we serve,” said John Bruno, president and chief operation officer at Xerox. “ITsavvy’s complementary offerings, aligned with our strong reputation, should accelerate growth in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, while creating new avenues for us to help existing and new clients transform the way they work. They have a proven track record of success, and we look forward to bringing this highly capable and experienced team into the fold.”
Founded in 2004, ITsavvy has been a leading provider of integrated IT infrastructure solutions, delivering business outcomes through frictionless client experiences in various segments and industries.
Thrive acquires Safety Net
Thrive has acquired Michigan-based MSP Safety Net to expand its client base in the region. The acquisition will provide customers with the same service they received from Safety Net, but now will give them access to a “new all-year-available security operations center, cybersecurity, and hybrid cloud resources.”
Thrive, an MSSP focused on outsourcing for cybersecurity, cloud, networking, and other IT needs, will now provide customers with new access to tools for incident response and remediation, managed detection and response, and dark web monitoring.
“Safety Net’s similar business philosophies and company culture are a perfect fit as our Midwest regional platform,” said Thrive CEO Rob Stephenson. “Their product and service sophistication, client-first mentality, and dedicated team of talented engineers will allow Thrive to grow in Michigan, as well as expand deeper into other Midwest markets with their strong leadership team.”
Clarion Communications acquires IPitomy Communications
Cloud-based unified communications (UC) and Atlanta-based MSP Clarion Communications has finalized its acquisition of another UC organization, the contact center-focused MSP IPitomy Communications.
The two UC companies will combine their assets to form a single-source UC/MSP that will now have 2,000 end-user customers and more than 200 dealer sales agents across the US.
“The completion of this acquisition marks another major milestone in Clarion’s journey as a leading UC/MSP to business customers of all sizes,” said Clarion president, CEO, and director Vincent Oddo. “Together, Clarion and IPitomy are uniquely positioned to provide these services with increased scale and resources.”
This acquisition by Clarion is part of the company’s wider efforts to bring together the UC and MSP industries.
Over the past month, M&As have played a significant role in the MSP space. Channel Insider is committed to ensuring you’re up-to-date on the big moves channel businesses are making.