MNJ Technologies has acquired Equivoice, which has earned Cisco Systems' Cloud and Managed Service Provider designation. The deal combines a full service technology reseller with a high-end service provider.
Take a closer look and the deal provides a range of potential benefits -- including:
- Expanded reach across the midwest. MNJ is based in Buffalo Grove, Ill., while Equivoice is based in Algonquin, Ill.
- MNJ's product reselling and outsourced telecom management skills blended with Equivoice's public and private cloud "block" solutions.
MNJ was founded in 2002 by Susan Kozak, and is certified by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council as a Women's Business Enterprise (WBE), a women owned and operated company. Equivoice's business, in contrast, dates back to 1996 -- enjoying a long history in the VoIP market. ChannelE2E is checking on headcount figures for each company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
VAR, MSP & Cisco Partner Acquisitions 2016
Merger and acquisition activity across the IT channel has started out strong in 2016. Among the key deals ChannelE2E has been tracking:
- MSP Storage: StorageCraft, a business continuity software provider to MSPs, sold majority interest to TA Associates for $187 million.
- Cisco Partner Ecosystem: Presidio acquired Netech, a $300 million Cisco partner.
- Microsoft Partner M&A: Vital Network Solutions acquired Octari for Microsoft Azure managed services expertise.
- Salesforce.com Partner Buy: Connect Computer Service Inc. acquired CASE Partners for network, hybrid cloud and Salesforce application expertise.
MSP, VAR Acquisitions Will Remain Hot
Demographics and market data suggest the big M&A wave involving IT service providers will continue to grow through at least 2022. After all, many baby boomer business owners are looking to retire, and younger owners are looking to acquire service providers that offer geographic reach, technical expertise, cash flow, customer diversity, vertical market know-how and more.
Service Leadership Inc. CEO Paul Dippell describes many of the IT service provider M&A trends and valuations in ChannelE2E Podcast Episode 059, which will debut this evening (January 19, 2016) on ChannelE2E.
Also of note: M&A could be particularly strong in the midmarket, where 60 percent of companies with $5 million to $2 billion in annual revenues are open to M&A activity in 2016, according to Citizens Commercial Banking. This is up sharply from roughly 40% last year,” reports StreetInsider.
We will update this article if/when we receive more details about MNJ's buyout of Equivoice.
