Cisco Applauds Presidio Buyout of BlueWater Communications

Presidio’s buyout of BlueWater Communications, which combines two VAR 500 companies, has earned Cisco Systems’ seal of approval. Moreover, Cisco Channel Chief Edison Peres (pictured) applauds BlueWater CEO Bob Cagnazzi’s expected shift into the CEO slot at Presidio, one of the largest IT service providers in North America.

Indeed, Cisco was aware of the M&A negotiations between Presidio and BlueWater. During the M&A process, Presidio and BlueWater advisors apparently checked in with Cisco, on a confidential basis, to gauge the networking giant’s view of the potential Presidio-BlueWater business combination.

Read the Fine Print

Such check-ins are a wise move for Cisco partners considering M&A deals. Within Cisco’s partner contracts, Cisco reserves the right to cancel or alter partner relationships in the event of a change in ownership, The VAR Guy has heard. Presidio is one of Cisco’s largest North America partners, and BlueWater has been one of Cisco’s fastest-growing partners since the company launched roughly five years ago.

Presidio and BlueWater are expected to announce their business combination in the next few days. The deal apparently involved investment advice from Foros Group, an M&A consultancy.

Same Title, New Company

BlueWater CEO Bob Cagnazzi is set to become CEO Presidio, which will focus on IT services, managed services, unified communications and cloud services. Cagnazzi confirmed the deal to The VAR Guy earlier today.

The deal appears to have earned Cisco’s blessing. “Presidio is one of our top partners so this is great news,” said Cisco Channel Chief Edison Peres. “Bob [Cagnazzi] is a great guy. We are big fans. It was a brilliant move to make him CEO of Presidio.” Peres shared those insights with The VAR Guy during Cisco Partner Velocity, a marketing event that kicked off today in Las Vegas.

The VAR Guy expects Presidio and BlueWater to make an official announcement as soon as February 29.