The ten CRN Top VARs that have been acquired this year
In an unprecedented wave of consolidation, ten of the top 100 UK resellers, MSPs and SIs featured in CRN Top VARs have changed ownership since we finished researching the 2016 edition. We run through them here.
Consolidation among resellers, MSPs and SIs has stepped up a gear in 2017.
No fewer than 10 of the UK's Top 100 VARs - including three £100m-plus goliaths - have changed ownership since we closed the research in early November 2016 - and we're only in August.
Of the ten, four have been gobbled by larger trade players, and a further four by private equity house. Another two have been wolfed down by vendors, making for a signficantly altered landscape from nine months ago.
Here we count them down, from smallest to largest.
10. Civica Services (part of Civica) - acquired by Partners Group, July
Software giant Civica was sold to private equity firm Partners Group in July, in a deal valued at just over £1bn.
Civica's volume licensing arm, Civica Services, ranked 98th in CRN's 2016 edition of Top VARs, with a revenue of £27.8m.
The Putney-based firm specialises in software fulfilment, professional services and managed services,
Civica's previous change of ownership only came in 2013, but CEO Wayne Story said the latest switch is "a very positive development" for the business' strategy.
9. Intrinsic - acquired by Maintel, August
Comms VAR Intrinsic was acquired by rival Maintel this month in a deal that creates a £160m outfit, according to Maintel CEO Eddie Buxton.
Troubled Intrinsic had undergone a series of high-level management over recent years, but still placed 96th in Top VARs, with a revenue of £28.1m.
Maintel, which also acquired Azzurri last year, paid just £5.25m for Intrinsic - a price which Buxton said had left his peers expressing a degree a surprise.
The Intrinsic name is set to vanish at the start of 2018.
8. Midshire - acquired by Sharp Electronics Europe, August
Sharp Electronics Europe continued a trend in the print arena earlier this month by snapping up its reseller Midshire.
Midshire placed 94th in Top VARs with a revenue of £28.5m and will now join Sharp's Business Systems UK arm, but will continue to operate under its own brand.
Sharp followed in the footsteps of counterparts including Ricoh, Kyocera and Xerox in snapping up one of its channel partners, although a Midshire representative assured CRN that the reseller will continue to sell its other vendors - the likes of HP and Lexmark - for the time being.
Article continues on following page
The ten CRN Top VARs that have been acquired this year
In an unprecedented wave of consolidation, ten of the top 100 UK resellers, MSPs and SIs featured in CRN Top VARs have changed ownership since we finished researching the 2016 edition. We run through them here.
7. CSI - acquired by MML, August
Security and infrastructure provider CSI changed private equity hands earlier this month, with MML Capital taking the firm off of Blackhawk Capital's hands.
CSI boss Alan Watkins - who owns Blackhawk Capital with fellow executive Kelvin Lewis - said private equity buyers had started circling following CSI's successful transition from a reseller to an MSP.
CSI, which placed 72 in Top VARs with a revenue of £39.1m, is reportedly now valued at in the region of £80m - more than five times the £15m Blackhawk is believed to have paid for the business in 2012.
6. MTI - acquired by Endless, January
MTI was acquired by former Trustmarque owner Endless in January, snapping up the Dell EMC partner from its private equity owner Garnet and Helfrich.
MTI's revenue was £40.8m in fiscal 2016, placing it 70th in Top VARs.
CEO Keith Clark said the deal will set MTI on an expansion drive, both organically and via acquisitions.
Endless had sold Trustmarque to Capita just seven months before.
5. Blue Chip - acquired by GCI, July
Poole-based outfit Blue Chip was snagged by acquisitive Microsoft partner GCI in July, creating a £95m firm.
Blue Chip itself placed 67th in Top VARs with a turnover £42.2m.
GCI fought of competition from "one or two" other parties to complete its largest acquisition to date, which CEO Adrian Thirkill said would add national IT support to its arsenal.
The funds came out of a war chest provided to GCI last year after it secured £50m funding from its banks.
4. Annodata - acquired by Kyocera, December
The second print vendor featured in this countdown, Kyocera acquired its Kings Langley-based reseller partner Annodata at the end of last year.
Kyocera's UK marketing director Nigel Allen moved to alleviate partner concerns at the time, and said the reaction from the vendor's channel had been "very good".
Annodata was 43rd in Top VARs with a revenue of £65.2m and will continue to operate as an independent business following the deal.
The managed print, networking and offices supplies specialist had, prior to the acquisition, set itself the target of hitting £100m in revenue this year.
Article continues on following page
The ten CRN Top VARs that have been acquired this year
In an unprecedented wave of consolidation, ten of the top 100 UK resellers, MSPs and SIs featured in CRN Top VARs have changed ownership since we finished researching the 2016 edition. We run through them here.
3. Alternative Networks - acquired by Daisy, November
Nineteenth-placed Alternative Networks was acquired by acquisitive, sixth-placed Daisy in a £165m deal towards the end of last year.
Daisy went private in 2015, before snapping up comms VARs Damovo and Phoenix IT Group.
CEO Neil Muller told us in March that further acquisitions are unlikely for the foreseeable future, claiming that Daisy has accumulated the converged IT, comms and cloud capabilities necessary to hit its £1bn turnover goal organically.
Alternative's revenue was £146.8m prior to the acquisition.
2. Danwood - acquired by Apogee, March
Apogee continued its private equity-fuelled shopping spree with a deal for troubled peer Danwood in March.
Danwood, placed 18th in Top VARs with a revenue of £149.8m, but the figure was down 23 per cent on the previous and rumours of redundancies surfaced soon after the deal closed.
At the time, Apogee said the deal would "significantly enhance" its presence in the UK's SMB, corporate and public sector spaces.
Since private equity house Equistone Partners Europe invested in Apogee, the firm has made a string of acquisitions and now claims to be the largest independent provider of printer services in Europe.
1. Misco - acquired by Hilco Capital, March
Misco's long-rumoured divorce with Systemax finally became a reality in March when the struggling reseller was split apart from the channel giant and taken on by distressed-assets specialist Hilco Capital.
Soon after the announcement, new CEO Alan Cantwell embarked on a quest to balance the books, shutting the firm's Watford office and cutting the sales team down to size.
Misco's £219.4m revenue saw it placed 13th in Top VARs, but sales were down nearly a quarter on the previous year, while its operating loss widened to £8.5m.