Latest Channel M&A: Dell, Cisco, New Relic, Broadcom, More
The biggest deal of the bunch is valued at $6.5 billion.
August 11, 2023
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Cisco intends to buy Oort, a privately held company based in Boston. The Oort team’s experience and technical capabilities will help accelerate Cisco’s path to delivering identity threat detection and response (ITDR) capabilities into its extended detection and response (XDR) and identity and access management solutions.
Oort will contribute to the expansion of Cisco’s product and engineering talent and accelerate Cisco’s delivery of the Cisco Security Cloud, the companies said. Oort’s technology will be an integral component of the Cisco security portfolio through the Cisco Security Cloud, a global, cloud-delivered, integrated networking and security platform for organizations of any shape and size.
Cisco is delivering upon its vision of Cisco Security Cloud, and this acquisition helps to accelerate the delivery of platform value for its customers.
Dell Technologies will buy Moogsoft, an AI-driven provider of intelligent monitoring solutions that support development operations and information technology operations, according to MarketWatch.
The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but details should be provided in the third quarter, the companies said.
Texas-based the The Round Rock said Moogsoft would enhance Dell’s AIOps capabilities. This is part of its longstanding approach of embedding AI functionality within its product portfolio, MarketWatch said.
Cox completed the acquisition of commercial fiber provider, Unite Private Networks (UPN). UPN and Cox-owned Segra will form a new standalone fiber company to accelerate growth in the company’s commercial fiber solutions.
Cox became the majority owner of UPN in 2016 in partnership with Ridgemont Equity Partners and the UPN management team.
Cox acquired Segra in 2021, and Cox has invested in additional business services companies including cloud and managed IT services providers RapidScale and Logicworks.
Kevin T. Hart leads the newly combined company as chief executive officer, and Jason Adkins serves as president, reporting to Hart.
“We’re committed to offering our commercial customers a full portfolio of services,” said Kevin T. Hart, chief executive officer of the new company. “Continuing to enable our customers to win in the marketplace by offering them best in class connectivity and business services is our top priority.”
Columbia Capital-backed Bluewave has closed the acquisition of OnCall, a 14-year-old agency with a headquarters in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The parties did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, but the entire OnCall team will join Bluewave’s roster of employees. OnCall’s website lists four people, including two client success managers.
Which other firms has Bluewave acquired this year? Find out more here.
DigitalOcean says it will enhance customers’ ability to easily test, develop and deploy AI applications and machine learning tools with its acquisition of Paperspace, a cloud computing startup that also focuses on artificial intelligence. DigitalOcean purchased Paperspace for $111 million.
Through the acquisition, DigitalOcean, which bills itself as the cloud for SMBs and startups, will augment and enhance existing AI/ML applications and utilize GPUs in ways that have predominantly been the domain of large enterprises.
Yancey Spruill, CEO of DigitalOcean, said the company will expand its portfolio with simplified AI/ML offerings.
How will Paperspace benefit from DigitalOcean’s self-serve model and go-to-market strategy? Find out more here.
Nevada-based technology advisor and award-winning Intelisys agent Sidepath Global has agreed to be acquired by Upstack.
Upstack, bolstered by private equity firm Berkshire Partners and other institutional investors, is buying Sidepath Global’s book of business, while forming a partnership with Sidepath’s VAR division. All four Sidepath Global employees will get positions at the acquirer. In addition, the deal makes Sidepath co-owner and president Jim Andronaco a partner and managing director at Upstack.
Patrick Mulvee, who co-owned Sidepath Global and its reseller counterpart, Sidepath Inc., will keep the title of Sidepath Inc. co-owner. Sidepath for years operated as both a commission-based agency and a resale-based VAR, before splitting in 2020. Upstack has only purchased the agency business.
Read more about Sidepath’s global background.
Francisco Partners and TPG are acquiring New Relic in an all-cash deal valued at $6.5 billion. At closing, New Relic will become a private company. The transaction should close in late 2023 or early 2024.
Bill Staples, New Relic‘s CEO, said his company has made significant progress on its consumption business transition, “and together with Francisco Partners and TPG, we will have the resources and flexibility to not only complete the final chapter of this transition, but also accelerate our strategy and provide customers with a standardized data-driven practice that any company can benefit from.”
Learn why Francisco Partners always admired New Relic.
Charlesbank-backed Bridgepointe Technologies has announced a strategic investment in Midwestern technology advisor and voice services provider Parallel Technologies.
Parallel, a 40-year-old partner based in Dublin, Ohio, has agreed to an undisclosed transaction with Bridgepointe. As a result of the investment, Parallel now uses the branding “Parallel Technologies powered by Bridgepointe,” but the company states that its client engagement and employee tasks remaining the same as before. A Bridgepointe executive told Channel Futures that Parallel brings a healthy customer base in Ohio and the surrounding region, as well as professional services capabilities.
Learn more about Parallel’s business model here.
Chiltern Capital and its management team are buying UK IT hardware, software and services distributor Intec Microsystems, with growth plans to exceed £100 million (US $129 million) in the next year.
Previous majority shareholder Dean Leather will step down from his role. The business will continue to be run by existing directors Andy Russell, Ian Whatton, John Lester and Stuart Hall.
Industry veteran Alan Cantwell will join the board as executive chairman to oversee Intec Microsystems’ next phase of growth.
“Having founded Intec 20 years ago and seen it deliver fantastic growth over that period, now is the time to pass on the baton. I’m leaving Intec in great hands and with people who will take the company to the next level,” said Leather.
Why do some consider Intec Microsystems a ‘Best-Kept Secret’? Find out here.
Informa Tech, owner of the Channel Futures and Channel Partners Conference & Expo media and event brands, announced its intent to acquire Canalys, the tech industry’s largest provider of global channel research and consulting services. Informa, which expects the purchase to close in the third quarter, did not disclose financial terms of the deal.
The combination of Informa Tech Channels and Canalys will create the largest provider of research and insight, events and media focused on the future of the entire information and communications technology channel. The marriage will help to elevate the voices of the Canalys analyst team which focuses on channel analysis, ecosystems, managed services analysis, partner program analysis and vendor benchmarking, among other services.
Canalys is home to 42 analysts, according to its web page, who represent some of the most respected, recognized and followed names in technology, channel and other markets served by the company.
Learn more how this deal addresses the global needs of customers.
Residential and SMB internet service provider EarthLink is bulking up its fixed wireless capabilities with the acquisition of One Ring Networks.
The purchase of One Ring and its five-state fixed wireless internet footprint will help jump-start EarthLink’s new business services unit, which will go live in the fall. Windstream sold off EarthLink’s consumer internet service provider piece to the private equity firm Trive Capital in 2019.
EarthLink executives said they found a cultural fit with One Ring. EarthLink president Mike Toplisek said adding Texas-based One Ring “enables us the opportunity to take our business service capabilities to the next level for our customers.”
Read more about One Ring Networks’ five-state footprint.
Coro gets secure access service edge (SASE) capabilities with its acquisition of Privatise, an Israel-based supplier of network security solutions for in-office and remote work.
The acquisition is part of an aggressive growth strategy to expand the capabilities of Coro’s cybersecurity platform both organically and through strategic acquisitions. It’s fueled by Coro’s $155 million in funding over the last 12 months.
Coro didn’t say how much it’s paying for Privatise.
Dror Liwer, Coro’s co-founder, said Coro’s partners will be able to offer SASE capabilities to their customers, big and small, increasing their overall wallet share of the customer’s IT spending.
Read why this acquisition is a significant Coro milestone.
French multinational company Thales is acquiring Imperva, a U.S.-based data and application security company, from Thoma Bravo, for $3.6 billion.
Thales said it’s taking its cybersecurity business to the next level with this acquisition. Imperva will enable growth in data security and mark Thales’ entry into the application security market.
Imperva’s integration into Thales will significantly expand Thales’ addressable market in an already fast-growing sector.
The app security acquisition should close by the beginning of 2024 upon completion of customary antitrust and regulatory approvals.
Find out more about Thales’ cybersecurity portfolio.
Britain’s competition regulator has provisionally cleared the $69 billion Broadcom acquisition of VMware.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ruled the deal would not weaken competition in the server market.
The CMA had been investigating any potential harm to Broadcom’s rivals stemming from the acquisition. This was due to the reduced interoperability of their I/O hardware and switches with VMware’s server virtualization software.
“The (CMA) panel found the deal would be unlikely to harm innovation, in particular since information about new product adaptations only needs to be shared with VMware at a stage when it is too late to be of commercial benefit to Broadcom,” said the regulator.
Read more about Broadcom’s hurdles in the U.S.
Rev.io has acquired Tigerpaw, a software company offering end-to-end professional services and business automation software to technology providers.
Rev.io, the provider of automated billing and customer management solutions to telecommunications businesses, wireless and mobility providers, and managed service providers, says the deal expands the company’s managed services reach.
Tigerpaw’s core software offers MSPs an end-to-end PSA system, encompassing account management, sales automation, project management, reporting, RMM integration, invoicing, field technical support, inventory tracking and other features.
This is Rev.io’s third acquisition since 2021.
Learn how Rev.io will rebrand products.
Two big MSP acquisitions hit the channel last month: Thrive picked up IT Freedom in Austin, Texas, and Fulcrum IT Partners bought Stoneworks Technologies of Ottawa, Canada. Both moves play into the acquirers’ current and future strategies in different ways.
Thrive has been seeking companies in Texas to build out its presence in the southern part of the country after it bought MSPs in Florida a few years ago, said Rob Stephenson, CEO of Foxborough, Massachusetts-based Thrive, which has about 29 offices across the U.S., as well as in Singapore; Sydney; the Philippines; and the U.K.
Fulcrum IT set its sights further north to acquire Stoneworks Technologies, a $120 million MSP with 25 employees. It was founded in 2001 by Jody Burton. The company focuses on the Canadian federal government and public sectors. It counts more than 500 corporate and government customers in Canada.
Fulcrum is seeking more acquisitions in the near future. Find out what the company is looking for.
Teradata has acquired Stemma Technologies, a cloud-native, fully managed, data catalog solution. Founded in 2020, Stemma is recognized for its innovation and adept use of AI and machine learning that helps users discover, trust and use their data and metadata more effectively.
Hillary Ashton, Teradata’s chief product officer, said, “Stemma is helping redefine how enterprises find trustworthy data and providing a consistently up-to-date view of data anytime, anywhere. With a focus on AI-enhanced data search and exploration, we expect Stemma to broaden Teradata’s capacity to provide transformative analytics value from discovery through delivery. Stemma’s automated data catalog capabilities will help Teradata deliver an enhanced user experience designed to accelerate growth in the flourishing area of AI and ML analytics. We are thrilled to welcome Stemma’s strong team of engineers and metadata experts to help advance Teradata’s product roadmap in data lineage, data governance and data compliance — all driving to greater self-serve analytics in the age of AI.”
Private equity firm Francisco Partners is flipping the Forcepoint government business to TPG.
Forcepoint’s public sector unit, known as G2CI, will go to TPG’s late stage private equity platform for $2.45 billion. The definitive agreement amounts to more than more than double Francisco Partners paid to purchase Forcepoint nearly three years ago, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meantime, Forcepoint executives say the commercial business will focus on its secure access service edge (SASE) business under the oversight of Francisco and other investors.
The deal must first clear regulatory approval. The parties said they expect the transaction to wrap in the fourth quarter of 2023. Francisco will retain a minority stake in Forcepoint, according to reports by the Journal.
Learn more about Forcepoint’s government unit background.
Schneider Electric is looking to bolster its sustainability consulting credentials with the purchase of EcoAct from Atos Group. The vendor has entered exclusive negotiations with Atos to acquire the European firm to expand the company’s global sustainability consulting and carbon market capabilities.
Schneider isn’t disclosing the purchase price. Founded in France in 2006, EcoAct works with clients to drive decarbonization through climate change consulting and carbon offsets. The company’s climate change consulting services include net-zero strategy development, climate risk assessment and sustainability reporting. In recent years, the company has also expanded its carbon markets capabilities.
Schneider said EcoAct’s portfolio would complement its own services, the companies said. Read more here.
Absolute Software, the only provider of self-healing, intelligent security solutions, has been acquired by Crosspoint Capital Partners, L.P. (Crosspoint), a prominent private equity investment firm specializing in cybersecurity, privacy and infrastructure software markets.
This successful transaction with Crosspoint establishes Absolute as a private company and more specifically, will enable Absolute to focus on the next generation of resilience, profitable growth and enhanced competitiveness. Additionally, it will drive a new phase of growth and continued innovation to advance strategy and long-term value creation. The company will be able to execute its vision as a leader in the endpoint and network security market.
Gozynta, SaaS provider of accounting automations for MSPs, acquired Eureka Process, a process and strategy consulting company. This strategic acquisition marks a significant milestone in Gozynta’s commitment to improving the business processes of MSPs to make stronger companies.
Eureka Process has built a strong reputation as a trusted advisor, helping MSPs optimize their processes, improve efficiency, and drive sustainable growth. With this acquisition, Gozynta heightens their top-tier support provided for its products, Gozynta Mobius and Gozynta Payments, by integrating Eureka Process’s consultants into their support and services.
Gozynta, SaaS provider of accounting automations for MSPs, acquired Eureka Process, a process and strategy consulting company. This strategic acquisition marks a significant milestone in Gozynta’s commitment to improving the business processes of MSPs to make stronger companies.
Eureka Process has built a strong reputation as a trusted advisor, helping MSPs optimize their processes, improve efficiency, and drive sustainable growth. With this acquisition, Gozynta heightens their top-tier support provided for its products, Gozynta Mobius and Gozynta Payments, by integrating Eureka Process’s consultants into their support and services.
M&A for July proved massive for the channel as companies such as Dell Technologies, Thrive, New Relic, Broadcom and others entered into deals that earned a lot attention.
Take New Relic, for example. Francisco Partners and TPG are in the process of acquiring the company in a deal worth $6.5 billion. Francisco Partners has eyed New Relic for some time. Read about that and more in our slideshow above.
In a deal that should solidify how the channel gets information, Informa Tech, owner of Channel Futures and the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, said it’s acquiring channel research firm Canalys. It will create the largest provider of research and insight, events and media focused on the future of the entire information and communications technology channel.
Finally, French multinational company Thales is acquiring Imperva from Thoma Bravo. That deal is worth $3.6 billion. Thales said the acquisition means it can take cybersecurity “to the next level.” The app security acquisition will close by the beginning of 2024.
There’s so much more. And, if you didn’t catch our previous edition, you can do so here.
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