Altodigital finally succumbs to vendor-led consolidation craze

Following the sale of Annodata to Kyocera and Apogee to HP, the £70m-revenue print VAR has followed in their footsteps by agreeing a deal with Xerox

Xerox has gobbled up the UK's "largest independent office and technology provider" Altodigital, as part of a pair of UK acquisitions.

Managed print specialist Altodigital counts HP, Canon and Microsoft among its partners and was ranked 56th in CRN's Top VARs 2019, generating revenue of £71.2m for its year ending 30 September 2018.

At the same time, Xerox announced it has also acquired Bristol-based ITEC Connect, which counts Xerox, HP and Dell among its vendor partners. It saw turnover hit £39.7m for its year ending 28 February 2019.

The acquisitions continue a trend in recent years of vendors acquiring their reseller partners, including Annodata's purchase by Kyocera and HP's gargantuan deal to buy partner Apogee for £380m in 2018.

At that time, Altodigital CEO and owner James Abrahart told CRN that it was committed to remaining an independent company despite numerous purchase offers from vendors over the years. Last year, it started its own M&A spree with the purchase of IT support services firm Platinum.

"Altodigital is joining Xerox on its incredible journey as it undergoes a digital-first transformation and invests in customer-focused innovation," said Abrahart.

"We share Xerox's vision to broaden the range of services and technologies available to SMBs requiring a modern work experience."

Though Xerox has had to put its HP acquisition plans on ice, for the time being, it has undergone a channel M&A frenzy this year, having acquired Arena Group in January.

Xavier Heiss, EVP and president of EMEA operations at Xerox, said of its double acquisition: "We're supporting small and midsize businesses seeking a modern work experience through two acquisitions in the UK.

"Altodigital and ITEC are both leaders in managed print services and specialists in IT services, an area into which Xerox is rapidly expanding with new offerings."

Nick Orme, CEO of ITEC, added: "Our ambition is to deliver the latest innovation and technology to help businesses work smarter. Together with Xerox, we're in a prime position to offer workplace solutions that evolve and support SMBs as they seek growth."