Race to pop Peapod heats up

Several firms believed to be circling security VAR

The race to land security VAR Peapod is hotting up, with several firms believed to be circling the Trend Micro and BorderWare reseller.

CRN understands acquisitive integrators Integralis, GSS and MIS are among those to have been linked with the firm, and some sources claim Peapod is close to a deal.

Graham Jones, chief operating officer at Integralis, denied his firm was in the running.

“We’ve looked at companies like Peapod and they don’t fit our profile,” he said. “Our services ratio is far higher than theirs and any UK acquisition would have to complement our consulting or managed services business.”

Matt Tomlinson, commercial director at MIS, which has this year already picked off i-Sentral Security and Nexus’s IT security unit, said: “We’re aware that Peapod may be taking its business to the next stage by partnering with a larger player.

“Peapod is faced with the choice of making a significant investment in services, which is where the profit lies, or cashing in with an organisation that has already made that investment.”

Tomlinson claimed the gap between the UK’s top five security resellers and the chasing pack was widening as more mid-sized outfits get swallowed up.

Peapod and GSS declined to comment.