VAR Vodat completes MBO

Stockport-based comms specialist seals £5m private equity-backed deal as founder Mike Bielinksi heads into the sunset

Comms VAR Vodat has performed a £5m management buyout from its founder Mike Bielinski (pictured).

Founded in 2002, Stockport-based Vodat specialises in providing comms solutions to the UK retail sector, offering products and services including Wi-Fi, IP telephony, data networking and disaster recovery.

Its vendor partners include Meraki, Teleware, Thus and Virgin Media Business and the firm has also developed a managed payment service aimed at addressing the compliance challenges of PCI-DSS.

The £5m deal is backed by private equity firm Maven Capital Partners and will result in the retirement of chief executive Bielinksi.

Neil Poultney, managing director of Vodat, said: "We were keen to find a partner with similar drive and ambition and are therefore really pleased that Maven chose to invest in our business."

Ryan Bevington, investment director at Maven Capital Partners, said Vodat had achieved significant growth despite the economic conditions.

"The business is well placed to achieve further expansion over the next few years, particularly with the rollout of the new products and services," he said.

Bielinski concluded: "I may be retiring but I want the business to continue long into the future and I know I am leaving it in capable hands."