Evergreen Services Group has made its first MSP investment in the Great White North. The holding company announced the acquisition of Starport Managed Services, an MSP headquartered in the greater Toronto area.
This is technology M&A deal number 254 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2021. See all technology M&A deals for 2021 and 2020 listed here.
Evergreen, backed by Alpine Investors, is made up of a group of managed IT services providers. The group has made a number of investments in recent years. Earlier deals involved Wolf Consulting, Executech, Jenlor, Interlaced and Integritek among others. The deals typically allow MSPs to maintain their existing leadership teams and continue running their businesses independently. The deal represents Evergreen’s 28th MSP investment and its first investment outside of the United States.
Evergreen’s Starport Acquisition: The Canadian Expansion
As part of this most recent acquisition, Elliott Hyman, who currently serves as CEO of Wolf Consulting and chairman of Tech-Keys—two other Evergreen Services Group investments—will now serve as chairman of Starport Managed Services.
Starport has 31 employees, all of whom will stay with the company following the acquisition, a spokesperson for Evergreen confirmed to ChannelE2E.
Evergreen is looking to invest more in Canada, according to the company. “Expect to see more acquisitions announced this year,” a spokesperson told ChannelE2E. “That doesn't diminish our appetite to acquire U.S.-based MSPs though, we will still be more active in the U.S. than in Canada over time.”
Evergreen’s Starport Acquisition: Executive Insight
Hyman commented on the news:
“We are delighted to welcome Starport Managed Services to the Evergreen Services Group family. Starport has an exceptional reputation built on providing world-class customer service. We have been very impressed by the Starport team. We have found the ideal partner to launch our Canadian expansion and look forward to making additional investments in Canada.”
Starport co-founder Brian Everest added:
“We are very excited to have been identified by Evergreen as an IT provider with the size, structure and history of growth that would facilitate Evergreen’s plan for expansion into Canada. We are particularly excited about the additional market reach this will offer to our client base, particularly those with operations throughout Canada and the United States.”
Starport president, David Poulson, said:
“The Evergreen team has proved themselves passionate, dedicated, and knowledgeable. We’re really excited about the partnership with Evergreen. We’ve found a partner that recognizes the successful team and service delivery model we’ve put together, and who wants to ensure our team, our mission and core values, and the results we deliver to our clients remain the same – and who wants to help our team and our company grow in the future.”
