Datapipe set to bin Adapt name

Datapipe acquired Adapt earlier this month as it looks to make UK and European push

The Adapt name and logo is set to be dropped in early 2017 following Datapipe's takeover of the UK managed cloud provider.

Datapipe acquired Adapt from Lyceum Capital earlier this month in an attempt to expand its UK and European businesses.

The deal has seen Adapt renamed "Adapt, a Datapipe Company" for the transition before becoming Datapipe in early 2017, as the Adapt logo and branding is replaced.

Richard Dolan, senior vice president of marketing at Datapipe, told CRN that the deal will allow the US-based firm to capitalise on the foundations that Adapt has in the UK, and give Adapt customers the benefits of Datapipe's global presence.

"Adapt have a very significant client base and they have not been able to deliver global capabilities to that client base in the past," he said. "We see that as a tremendous opportunity to bring those services to that base.

"Their brand inside the UK was also much bigger than our own, so I think being able to catapult upon what they've built already, with the broader service offering that Datapipe can bring to the table, really does set us up for success."

He added that the acquisition moves Europe ahead of Asia as Datapipe's second-largest region, behind the US.

Datapipe has had a presence in the UK for just over a decade, but the addition of Adapt will quintuple its local headcount from 50 to 250.

Tony Connor, head of EMEA marketing, explained that the enlarged outfit will increase Datapipe's ability to compete against global firms.

"Inside the UK [we're competing against] the usual suspects such as Rackspace and Clararnet, as well as some of the larger SI organisations and even some of the larger global telcos as well - they're the people that Datapipe compete against on a daily basis," he said.

"We were confident of taking the fight to them prior to the acquisition [but] I think this really enhances our credibility and capability, specifically in the UK."

The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but analyst Megabuyte estimates the deal is worth around £130m.

Phillip Carse, head of research at Megabuyte, told CRN: "I wouldn't have classified Datapipe as a big hosting player prior to this deal so I can well understand why they've done the deal.

"Adapt is obviously a very substantial company in its own right, certainly one of the leading mid-sized players in the market.

"Adapt has certainly hit form recently and when you combine that with the benefits that will come from being purchased by a US player - with the trends in cloud adoption starting in the US and being followed down the line in Europe - the deal gives them a very big UK presence."

The most recent annual report on Companies House shows that for the year ending 31 December 2014 Datapipe Europe Limited, the UK subsidiary of Datapipe, recorded a turnover of £9.8m - a 20 per cent decrease on the previous year.

The firm said this was primarily a result of decreased usage from customers in its Icelandic datacentre.