Private equity-backed merger creates €150m (£129m) circular IT platform targeting channel growth

As demand for refurbished technology accelerates, distributor Flex IT and IT asset disposition specialist T1A Group are joining forces to create a circular IT powerhouse designed to keep more devices in use and flowing through the channel

European distributor Flex IT and Danish IT asset disposition specialist T1A Group have merged to create a €150m (£129m) circular IT business that combines device collection, refurbishment, and distribution under a single organisation through a network of thousands of reseller partners across Europe.

Circular IT is seeing growing interest from partners as end user procurement RFPs increasingly have mandatory sustainability requirements.

“The hard part of circular IT has never been finding a buyer for a good second-life laptop,” says Angelo Bul, CEO of the combined group.

“It is getting hold of the laptop in the first place. Far too much corporate hardware is still scrapped, or left in a cupboard for three years, without anyone ever asking whether it could be used again.”

Demand for refurbished technology continues to increase as businesses look to cut costs and increase sustainability efforts, however executives frequently cite sourcing as one of the biggest challenges. By combining the specialisations of T1A and Flex IT, the newly merged company will create a direct pipeline for second-use devices entering the market.

The merger will increase the volume of corporate IT equipment returned to productive use, extend the lifetime of devices, and reduce raw material and electronics waste. Under the new company, retired client devices can now be collected under contract, processed at the most appropriate R2v3 certified site, and sold into the channel where it will hold the most value.

Bul continued, “Together with T1A we can now take responsibility for the whole life of a client’s equipment, from the day it arrives to the day it leaves and beyond. That is what makes reuse the normal choice rather than the virtuous one.”

A network of 13,000 resellers

With influence across the entire technology supply chain, distributors are well positioned to drive more sustainable outcomes across the channel.

For T1A, the company specialises in collecting end-of-first-use corporate IT equipment and performs certified data erasure and refurbishment. Meanwhile Flex IT distributes new and refurbished hardware across Europe through a network of approximately 13,000 resellers, and operates certified refurbishment, as well as rental and demo services.

The merger aims to create a more integrated circular IT platform, bringing together asset recovery, refurbishment, and channel distribution under a single business.

Peter Hemicke, executive chairman and founder of T1A, commented: “Collecting corporate IT and refurbishing it to a certified standard is a discipline, and it took us twenty-five years to build.

“Selling it across Europe, at the right price, and into the right market, is a different discipline, and Flex IT has spent longer still building that.

“Neither of us could have built the other side from scratch in any sensible timeframe. What we can do now is take a device out of a company in one country and put it back to work in another, under warranty, with the chain of custody intact.”

The deal is backed by the Eurozeo Planetary Boundaries Fund with support from Dansk Vækstkapital. The group intends to continue pursuing external growth to expand geographical presence and its portfolio of services.