Six Degrees undergoes ownership separation

Acquisitions set to continue at managed services provider following 'substantial additional capital' from new backer Charlesbank

Managed data services specialist Six Degrees has changed private-equity ownership, with Charlesbank Capital Partners acquiring the firm from Penta Capital, in a move that will give Six Degrees "substantial additional capital".

Founded in 2011 by former SpiriTel boss Alastair Mills, Six Degrees has completed 13 acquisitions since it was formed and has promised this strategy will continue with its new backers.

"Post-acquisition, Six Degrees will benefit from substantial additional capital to fund the company's ambitious M&A programme," a statement from the firm said today.

Mills, Six Degrees chief executive, said the arrival of Charlesbank will help his firm conquer the mid-market managed services space.

"We are delighted to have delivered excellent returns to Penta during its ownership and we thank the team for supporting our original vision," he said.

"Now we are looking forward to working with Charlesbank to establish Six Degrees as the leading mid-market converged managed services provider, and we have ambitious plans to achieve this through both acquisitive and organic growth."

Mills noted the example of Charlesbank investing in bandwidth infrastructure services firm Zayo as it grew from revenues of $200m (£127m) to $1.3bn, as an example of its support for tech growth.

"Benefitting from Charlesbank's expertise, we intend to disrupt and redefine an industry that is ripe for consolidation and innovation," Mills added.

Outgoing investment backer Penta also owns a share in Daisy, which has previously given rise to industry speculation that the comms giant could make a swoop for Six Degrees.

Steven Scott, partner at Penta, said: "We are very happy to have concluded our investment in Six Degrees with a strong return for our shareholders. On behalf of Penta and its investors, I would like to thank all at Six Degrees for their hard work over the past few years."

Boston-based Charlesbank has more than $3bn of capital and is using this acquisition to get a foothold in the UK tech sector, according to a Six Degrees statement.

Michael Choe, president of Charlesbank, said: "As with Zayo, we see significant opportunity for Six Degrees to consolidate the fragmented landscape and drive equity value creation in the process. We are very excited about our partnership with the team at Six Degrees."

Six Degrees was originally founded following a three-way merger of UKSolutions, NetworkFlow and Protel.