ANS saw off three bidders to land fallen Microsoft partner Preact
Preact went under owing Ingram Micro £650,000, according to statement from administrators
ANS was one of four firms to submit a formal bid for fallen Microsoft partner Preact before it acquired it in an ‘administration sale' on 23 December, according to a Statement of Proposals filed this week on Companies House.
Preact called in insolvency practitioner FTS Recovery on 1 December after it began experiencing financial difficulties relating to Covid.
The 30-year-old Microsoft Gold partner employed around 60 staff in the UK and India.
HMRC had threatened to wind up the Maidenhead-based outfit after it failed to meet a £300,000 payment on 30 November, FTS' Statement of Proposals noted.
That prompted FTS to kick off a quick sale process for Preact, which resulted in 10 expressions of interest and four formal offers.
Manchester-based public and private cloud provider ANS agreed to pay £250,000 for the company and the majority of its assets on 23 December as it formally entered adminstration, with top management publicising the deal on the same day.
Pandemic's 'adverse effect'
Preact had been "consistently profitable" since its inception in 1993, but experienced a downturn in fortunes following the onset of the pandemic.
"The director attributes the company's critical financial position to structural post-pandemic challenges, which has materially impacted the deliverability of the service/product provided ultimately leading to having an adverse effect on the company's financial position," FTS said.
FTS estimated that the firm owed HMRC £1.5m and largest supplier Ingram around £650,000.
It was agreed that all potential interested parties would be introduced to Ingram, or asked to confirm in writing their proposals for repayment of any Ingram historic debt as ransom payment, as part of the acquisition from the administrators.
Ingram declined to comment further on the acquisition.
ANS issued CRN with the following statement:
"By bringing Preact into ANS we are giving all of our customers access to a broader range of services and capabilities to help their businesses grow and scale. It strengthens ANS's position in the market and opens up significant opportunity in the Dynamics 365 space.
"We are looking forward to building on the strong relationships Preact has developed with customers and partners to continue to support digital transformation for every size of organisation.
"Preact and ANS share similar values and cultures, putting their people first. This is a hugely positive move for our people and our customers and puts us in a strong position to start the year."