Auvik Networks, backed by private equity firm Great Hill Partners, has acquired MetaGeek, a provider of WiFi network management and optimization software tools for enterprises, small businesses and home networks. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This is technology M&A deal number 385 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2022. See more than 1,000 technology M&A deals involving MSPs, MSSPs & IT service providers listed here.
MetaGeek, Auvik and Home WiFi Management
MetaGeek, founded in 2005, is based in Boise, Idaho. The company has 12 employees listed on linkedIn. MetaGeek's Wi-Fi tools help network professionals to "more efficiently deploy and maintain wireless networks," the seller indicates. More than 100,000 users worldwide leverage MetaGeek products to discover, diagnose, and optimize their Wi-Fi networks, according to the firm's LinkedIn profile.
MetaGeek, like many software businesses, evolved quite a bit during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a blog, MetaGeek founder Ryan Woodings notes:
"After realizing the long term impact of the pandemic on corporate offices, we rolled up our sleeves, brewed more coffee, and set to work creating Signifi Business to enable IT departments to provide support for employees' home networks.
Unbeknownst to me, a really cool network management company in Waterloo, Canada had come to the same realization that we had about the expansion of the corporate network…"
Woodings, of course, was referring to Auvik Networks of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Auvik, founded in 2011, has 227 employees listed on LinkedIn. The company originally positioned its software for MSPs, but Auvik has expanded its base to all types of IT teams — including corporate IT departments.
Private equity firm Great Hill Partners invested $250 million in Auvik in July 2021. The deal represents a majority stake in the cloud-based network management software provider.
Auvik and MetaGeek: Potential Synergies
In a blog explaining MetaGeek's sale to Auvik, MetaGeek founder Ryan Woodings wrote:
"One thing that attracted me to Auvik is their excellent cloud platform for network management and insight. Auvik is to network management what MetaGeek is to Wi-Fi - an intuitive tool with awesome visualizations that delivers "aha!" moments to users. The opportunity to merge our Wi-Fi expertise with Auvik's network management expertise is super exciting for us! Stay tuned for some exciting product news later this year.
The other thing that attracted me to Auvik was The Auvik Way, which closely aligns with MetaGeek's Core Values:"
Those values, he notes, span:
- Empathy
- Teamwork - Better Together
- Work-Life Harmony
- Default to Transparency
- Keep Commitments
- Always be Improving
Auvik has some M&A experience. The company acquired network traffic software analytics startup Talaia in October 2018.
