SWK Technologies has acquired Partners in Technology (PIT), a Sage Software reseller that generates about $1 million in annual revenue. The purchase price was US$234,000, including $60,000 cash and a $174,000 three-year promissory note. PIT was founded in 1999 and currently serves more than 160 customers in the Chicago area.
PIT's profit figures were not disclosed, so ChannelE2E could not calculate the deal's valuation.
SWK Technologies is an IT consulting company that develops and provides on-premises and cloud solutions, including applications like Sage ERP, Acumatica, and Oracle NetSuite. The company’s network services division also provides IT infrastructure management, security, backup, and business continuity services. SWK is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SilverSun Technologies Inc.
Building On A Relationship
SilverSun CEO Mark Meller called the deal an ideal fit, saying PIT’s president, Merilyn Van Zwieten, has done a wonderful job building the company.
In a prepared statement, Meller said:
“The talent, skills, and expertise that she brings to SWK will enable us to rapidly expand our Chicago presence, which began with our previous acquisition years ago of Hightower, Inc. With our large and established customer base, plus the energy and experience of Merilyn and her team, we plan on becoming a dominant force in the SMB marketplace in the Midwest.”
The two companies have worked together for many years and know each other well, according to Van Zwieten. She added that SWK and PIT’s respective customer approaches and corporate cultures are almost identical "“The skill set of their team is exceptional, and both companies share the same corporate values,” she said. “We have tremendous opportunities in front of us, and the size and scale of the combined organizations will provide us with the resources to take full advantage of these opportunities. We’re better together, and clients on both sides will benefit from this transaction.”
SWK Technologies has been an active buyer in the Sage partner ecosystem. The company in mid-2018 acquired Information Systems Management Inc. (ISM), another Sage channel partner and West Coast-based reseller of ERP, CRM, and other solutions.
CRM Attracting Investments
CRM- and ERP-related partner acquisitions have been on the uptick across the IT services provider market. Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, and SAP partners have been buying each other up as they seek to gain more regional reach and increase their scale.
Going a step further, M&A activity among Sage partners has seen steady activity, even if investors aren’t knocking down the gates. For example, BCS ProSoft bought Steward Consulting in August 2018, uniting two of Sage’s top U.S. consulting partners.
