TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
The pandemic may have disrupted the M&A market this year but there has been no shortage of deals in the channel, both before and after the first national lockdown.
A number of firms featured in CRN's VAR 350 report have been snapped up this year, via a combination of trade acquisitions, private equity deals and MBOs.
We've ranked the top 15 acquisitions in ascending order based on the size of the acquired business' UK revenue.
The sales figures quoted have been taking from the most recent accounts on the Companies House website, which in some cases will have been filed after the acquisitions were announced.
15. New Signature - acquired by Cognizant, July
UK revenue: £19.1m
Services giant Cognizant snapped up global cloud player New Signature and quickly turned it into its Microsoft business unit.
Cognizant has been enduring a tricky period of transition over the last couple of years, but CEO Brian Humphreys claimed after announcing the acquisition that it has moved through the toughest spell.
"[With] New signature, I think you'll see our ability to scale the Microsoft business practice rapidly," he said.
New Signature is one of just 82 Azure Expert MSPs globally.
Its UK operation was built largely on Dot Net Solutions, which it invested in back in 2016.
The acquisition was supported by Microsoft, with commercial VP Judson Althoff stating: "The New Signature acquisition will enhance Cognizant's ability to partner with customers across industries and geographies on their cloud strategy and business transformation.
"We look forward to building on our long-standing partnership with Cognizant, especially with the coming launch of Cognizant's new Microsoft Business Group."
Cogizant has since gone on to acquire fellow Azure specialist 10th Magnitude, further expanding its Microsoft business unit.
Click through to see which UK Oracle partners merged
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
14. Explorer UK - acquired by DSP, August
UK revenue: £20m (run rate of combined business)
Two Oracle partners were brought together in August, with DSP acquiring counterpart Explorer UK - creating a £20m-revenue specialist in the process.
DSP was itself acquired by private equity house YFM in 2018 and given a cash injection of £5.3m.
The latest deal created a firm with 50 employees.
Simon Goodenough, CEO of DSP, said: "This really is a case of one and one makes three. It's great news for our team, customers, partners and investors that we have been able to bring together two of the UK's most renowned database management specialists at such a pivotal time for our industry.
"Explorer's pedigree as an award-winning provider of enterprise grade Oracle solutions addresses our need to offer clients a variety of options, from ultra-fast on-premise database infrastructures to highly secure, integrated cloud environments, all managed by our global managed services delivery team."
Both DSP and Explorer UK file exempt accounts, but the pair claimed to have a run rate of £20m at the time the acquisition was announced.
Click through to see the first of two Xerox acquisitions featured
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
13. Arena Group - acquired by Xerox, January
UK revenue £23.6m
The trend of print vendors acquiring their partners continued at the start of 2020, with Xerox moving for Arena Group to bring its US managed print model to Europe.
Xerox has snapped up other partners in the past, including Concept Group and NewField IT.
Sharpe and Kyocera brokered similar deals, but the largest of this nature came when HP took over Apogee in 2018.
Hervé Tessler, president of EMEA operations at Xerox, said: "Building on our success in the small and mid-size business market in the US, we're now expanding our strategy to Europe.
"With the acquisition of Arena Group, we will be uniquely positioned to offer workplace solutions in one of the fastest-growing managed print services segments in Western Europe."
Xerox had a much bigger prize in its sights when this deal was announced, but its hostile takeover of HP was scuppered by the pandemic.
Xerox was not obliged to reveal the terms of the deal despite being a public company.
Click through to see which housing specialist was snapped up in June
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
12. Castleton Technology - acquired by MRI, June
UK revenue: £26.4m
Castleton had been on its own M&A spree before being acquired itself in June.
The Birmingham based firm was snapped up by US-based MRI Software which, like Castleton, specialises in providing IT to the housing sector.
MRI CEO Patrick Ghilani said: "The acquisition of Castleton is a significant development for our business, delivering us critical scale in the UK real estate market and social housing sector in particular, and providing a platform to further accelerate our growth globally.
"A combined MRI and Castleton will be extremely well equipped to address the varying needs and evolving business models of the UK and Australian social housing sectors, with a comprehensive and flexible product portfolio."
Castleton has itself bought Deeplake Digital and Indian IT consultancy CarbonNV InfoLogic over recent years.
Click through to see which Capita business unit was bought back by its founder
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
11. Right Digital Solutions - MBO, August
UK revenue: £28.7m
Right Digital Solutions was bought back by its founder in August, nine years after being sold to Capita.
The firm had been known as Capita Workplace Solutions under the outsourcing giants ownership, but became one of a number of units offloaded as Capita looks to reverse its fortunes.
Gillett took back control as chairman, having founded the business in 1988 as Right Document Solutions
He said: "Over the last nine years Capita did a great job of providing significant infrastructure and scale for the business.
"However, as changes in the digital workplace accelerate, our clients need a more flexible and entrepreneurial approach to maximising staff productivity, managing their data and driving down costs."
Capita had acquired Right Document Solutions in 2011 for £30m, plus a deferred consideration of £10m.
Click through to see which AWS and Azure partner was acquired by a global consultancy
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
10. ECS - acquired by GlobalLogic, November
UK revenue: £33.5m
Glasgow-based AWS and Azure partner ECS was gobbled up consultancy giant GlobalLogic last month as part of the firm's European growth strategy.
The move sees ECS' workforce of around 650 joined GlobalLogic's 16,000-strong employee footprint.
ECS CEO Mark Farrington said: "The demand for digital engineering and cloud services continues to grow at an accelerated pace.
"Joining GlobalLogic is a game-changer for ECS. With access to a broader set of competencies and global scale, we can address a wider range of client opportunities. With its people-oriented culture, GlobalLogic is a fantastic match for ECS at every level. We are excited to embark on this journey together."
Last year ECS' security arm was spun out into a separate business named Adarma via an MBO.
The revenue figure quoted above is for the ECS Europe Ltd entity
Click through to see which infrastructure and security vendor Ricoh acquired
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
9. MTI - acquired by Ricoh, October
UK revenue: £35m
The second partner to be acquired by a vendor in this article, MTI's acquisition by Ricoh in October surprised many.
The storage and security VAR became part of Ricoh's IT services operation in Europe.
MTI's leadership team remained in place as part of the deal.
CEO Scott Haddow (pictured) said: "Our mission is to help customers accelerate digital transformation by modernising their IT systems and refining IT operations with security assurance as standard and privacy by design.
"Becoming a Ricoh company means we can take this to the next level."
Click through to view the next acquisition
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
8. Excitech - acquired by Addnode Group, January
UK revenue: £37.1m
Autotask's largest UK Platinum reseller Excitech was acquired by Addnode Group in January.
The Swedish firm is the parent company of Symetri, which specialises in building information modelling, product design and lifecycle solutions.
Adrian Atkinson, chairman and founder of Excitech, said at the time: "Excitech is a strong business and the company is ready to take the next step.
"When we began discussions with Symetri about how the two businesses could work together, it quickly became clear that the two organisations share common values with a strong empathy for employees and customers, and complementary skills and technologies."
Symetri said the acquisition is part of its ambition to become the international market leader of software and IT services to the construction and manufacturing industries.
Click through to see which SAP partner was acquired in January
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
7. Sapphire Systems - acquired by Horizon Capital, January
UK revenue: £38.5m
Private equity house Horizon Capital took a majority stake in Sapphire Systems at the start of the year, adding to a portfolio that includes contact specialist Sabio, print player DMC Canotec and Timico.
Sapphire is an SAP and Infor partner, and said the investment will aid its plan to accelerate both in the UK and globally.
Documents filed with Companies House show that Horizon now owns at least 75 per cent of Sapphire.
Sapphire CEO Ian Caswell said: "Since founding Sapphire, we have built a strong and scalable business that we believe can be further enhanced through continued organic initiatives and high-quality acquisitions.
"Horizon's proven track record in successfully backing technology companies makes them a natural choice as an investment partner for us.
"I am very excited that with Horizon's backing and the team's substantial experience we are well positioned to realise huge growth potential in the coming years."
Click through to see which audiovisual player was acquired and merged with a rival
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
6. AVI-SPL - acquired by Marlin Equity Partners, February
UK revenue: £39.2m
AVI-SPL was acquired by Marlin as the pandemic was taking hold in the UK and has merged it with fellow audiovisual specialist Whitlock.
US-based Whitlock was founded in 1956, but has taken on the AVI-SPL name since the acquisition completed in April.
AVI-SPL was already the world's largest AV integrator, with its UK arm generating sales of £39.2m, according to its most recent accounts.
The combined business saw pro forma sales hit $1.3bn in 2019.
CEO John Zettel said: "AVI-SPL and Whitlock have always shared a mutual admiration and respect for one another due to our similar passion for innovation and commitment to providing world-class customer experiences.
"Combining these strengths along with our talented employees, strong global partnerships, and worldwide resources will ensure we continue to deliver the very best experience for our local and global customers undergoing digital transformations."
AVI-SPL appointed a new UK MD in October, with Michael Kellaway taking the reins.
Click through to see which £50m-revenue firm changed private equity hands
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
5. Solid Solutions - minority investment from LDC, February
UK revenue: £53.8m
Solid Solutions saw its minority stake change hands early in the year, when LDC took the baton from existing backer BGF.
The value of the investment was not disclosed but Solid called it "significant".
Solid CEO Alan Sampson said: "LDC is the perfect partner to help us on the next stage of our journey.
"Their investment allows us to accelerate the growth plans for the business by increasing our scale, capacity and capability, enabling customers to benefit from an even wider product and service offering."
Solid is a CAD specialist and claims to be the largest reseller of Solidworks in the UK.
The acquired a string of firms with BGF's making, namely Cadtek Systems, New Technology CADCAM and Solution Solutions Innovations.
Click through to see which Microsoft partner was acquired
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
4. Grey Matter - acquired by Wayside Technology, November
UK revenue: £57.8m
When Wayside Technology acquired UK-based CDF Group in November the PR was largely focused on software distie Sigma, which the firm intends to merge with its US VAD Climb Channel Solutions.
But CDF is also the parent company of licensing specialist Grey Matter, which also changed hands has part of the deal.Grey Matter is a both a Microsoft Direct and Indirect partner and claims to work with over 300 software publishers.
Boss Andrew King (pictured) said: "Wayside's extensive vendor network and commitment to developing emerging technology brands made them an ideal partner for CDF given our limited overlap in geographies as well as vendor and VAR relationships," he said.
"In addition, CDF's software and cloud platform expertise will enable us to provide Wayside's customers with end-to-end cloud solutions and support, from cloud adoption to migration to optimization."
CDF does not break out the revenue for its two businesses, with Sigma listed as a trading entity of Grey Matter.
Click through to see which education reseller was acquired by a channel entrepreneur
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
3. Academia - acquired by Andrew Harman, September
UK revenue: £67.8m
Annodata co-founder Andrew Harman kicked off a buy-and-build project in September with the acquisition of Academia.
Harman took a 75 per cent stake in the higher education reseller via his investment firm Strive Capital and revealed plans to bolster its managed services business and product portfolio through acquisitions.
The venture is Harman's first since selling Annodata to Kyocera in 2016.
He told CRN he has plans to grow Academia into a £300m-revenue business over the next five years.
"Academia is very good at transactional business and part of my brief is to expand their managed service proposition out to their client base and to get them to think more in the annuity business so that they're building that total proposition up," he said.
Academia made its own acquisition earlier in the year, buying Toucan Computing to bolster its credentials in the lower education space.
Click through to see the second Xerox acquisition featured in this list
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
2. Altodigital - acquired by Xerox, March
UK revenue: £71.2m
The second Xerox acquisition featured in this article saw print giant Altodigital swallowed by the US vendor, just days after the UK entered its first national lockdown.
CEO James Abrahart had previously told CRN how the firm had rebuffed multiple approach from vendors in the past, but ultimately chose to sell this time around.
"Altodigital is joining Xerox on its incredible journey as it undergoes a digital-first transformation and invests in customer-focused innovation," he said.
"We share Xerox's vision to broaden the range of services and technologies available to SMBs requiring a modern work experience."
Altodigital had only kicked off what it said would be an M&A spree in July last year, starting with the acquisition of IT support firm Platinum.
Xerox announced this acquisition at the same time as a deal for £40m-sales Bristol-based managed print provider Itec Connect.
Click through to see the largest UK channel acquisition of 2020
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
1. AVMI - acquired by Kinly, June
UK revenue: £81.2m
Dutch firm Kinly created an audiovisual powerhouse in June when it acquired UK-based counterpart AVMI.
AVMI has 600 employees across the UK, Ireland, the US, Hong Kong and India, with Kinly boss Robbert Bakker revealing that an improved global reach was part of the rationale for the deal.
"If you look at our positioning in the world, until last week we were the European leader with a presence in Norway, the Netherlands, the US and Singapore," he said at the time.
"By adding AVMI to the portfolio we now have a presence in Ireland, Dubai, India and Hong Kong, so we've increased the presence for both Kinly and AVMI customers… so we think it's a perfect match."
AVMI boss Ed Cook has departed since the acquisition was announced.
Kinly was itself only formed in 2017 via the private equity-backed merger of Viju and VisionsConnected.
Bakker said that he intends to continue on the M&A trail and is looking to acquire for both improved capability and extended geographical reach.
Click through for a bonus entry; the largest acquisition made by a UK reseller this year
TOP 15 VAR acquisitions of 2020
We round up the biggest M&A deals from a busy year in the channel
Bonus: Pivot - acquired by Computacenter, September
Revenue: $1.2bn
Computacenter's acquisition of Pivot may not feature in this list owing to Pivot not having a UK business - but it is certainly worth a mention.
Canada-based Pivot's $1.2bn sales in the US make it the largest reseller acquired by a UK based firm this year, and doubled the size of Computacenter's American business - which is built on the 2018 acquisition of FusionStorm.
Computacenter CEO Mike Norris has told CRN that he wants to build a US business that is similar to Computacenter's European operation - with a particular focus on services.
He said that he sees the Hatfield-based firm's US competition to be more like the likes of Presidio and Pomeroy, rather than traditional resellers such as Insight and World Wide Technology.