Exclusive Networks starts next wave of M&A with Aussie buy

Antipodean VAD WhiteGold Solutions first of several acquisitions distributor plans to make with new €25m funding line

Exclusive Networks has acquired its way into the Australian market after snaring a €25m (£20m) cash injection from its banking backers.

The pan-European VAD has snapped up Sydney-headquartered WhiteGold Solutions, the first of several purchases it plans to make using the new line of acquisition funding provided by ICG.

The move expands Exclusive's footprint outside EMEA for the first time and nudges it closer to its €1bn revenue goal.

ICG pumped €60m into Exclusive only 11 months ago - €50m of which was earmarked for M&A - but the distributor's quick-fire acquisitions of Secureway in UAE, Terach in Benelux and Bilișimcim in Turkey left the piggy bank empty.

Talking to CRN, Exclusive chief executive Olivier Breittmayer said the fresh tranche of funding would last it until the middle of 2015, adding that it plans to close another acquisition as soon as September.

Private equity-backed Exclusive now has coverage of 20 countries in EMEA, making it the right time to expand into a market that shares the region's culture but is further afield, Breittmayer (pictured) explained.

"We did a study showing we have coverage of 84 per cent of the EMEA market and I don't think there are any countries left that we're interested in," he said.

With a turnover of more than €30m, WhiteGold bills itself as Australia's leading independent security, networking and datacentre VAD and carries many of the same vendors as Exclusive, including FireEye and Arbor Networks. It also has an office in New Zealand.

Local management retain a 30 per cent stake in the firm, in line with Exclusive's goal of harnessing the "entrepreneurial and dynamic attributes" of the outfits it acquires.

"The Australian market is the same size as the French market so it is big enough to be interesting and there was a good fit with the management team," Breittmayer said. "It is a fast-growing company with huge potential - we do €90m in the French market so we can triple [its revenue].

If Exclusive closes another acquisition this year, group turnover will likely swell to €600m - €100m more than its previous target.

"The ambition is still the same: to get to €1bn by 2017 - although now we may achieve that a bit faster," said Breittmayer.