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MSP M&A: Upstack Acquires IT Services Provider Stellar Connect

Credit: Getty Images

Credit: Getty Images

Communications and digital infrastructure company Upstack, backed by private equity firm Berkshire Partners, has acquired independent, full-service IT services provider Stellar Connect. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is technology M&A deal number 819 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.

Upstack, founded in 2017, is based in New York, New York. The company has 103 employees listed on LinkedIn. Upstack’s areas of expertise include colocation, network, private cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud, hybrid IT, data center, unified communications, cloud contact center, security and business continuity.

Stellar Connect, founded in 2014, is based in Thousand Oaks, California. The company has three employees listed on LinkedIn. Stellar Connect’s areas of expertise include information technology consulting, cloud services, internet services, data center services, voice services, voice over IP solutions, contact center services, audio conferencing, video conferencing, web conferencing, telecommunications, disaster recovery and MPLS.

As part of the deal, co-founders Nanette Kische and Mike Eaton will join Upstack as partners and the company’s operations manager will join the Upstack support team, Upstack said.

Upstack Acquires Stellar Connect: Leadership Insight

Christopher Trapp, CEO, Upstack
Christopher Trapp, CEO, Upstack

Christopher Trapp, founder and CEO, Upstack, commented:

"Built on a strong partnership between Nanette and Mike, Stellar Connect is a successful and respected technology services firm with decades of in-depth experience. Their entrepreneurial spirit and holistic approach to solving complex IT challenges align with ours, and we're excited to welcome the Stellar Connect team to Upstack."

Nanette Kische, co-founder, Stellar Connect, said:

"Our business philosophy is about relationships. If you do them well, you'll be successful. And if you don't, you won't. Solving IT problems is what we're known for but helping clients we care about makes it meaningful."

Mike Eaton, co-founder, Stellar Connect, added:

"Upstack has built a talented team coupled with the support to take care of our customers. That's pretty powerful. It allows us to scale in a way that would be difficult on our own and still provide the level of service we're known for. Joining Upstack allows us to do more for our clients, and that's exciting."

Upstack’s M&A Growth

Building on an earlier equity investment from Berkshire Partners, Upstack recently secured $100 million in financing from MidCap Financial and Morgan Stanley Private Credit to further scale its platform through technology expansion and strategic partner investments.

This has led Upstack to be very active in the M&A game in recent years. The acquisitions have primarily focused on telecommunications, networking and infrastructure companies. The deals that ChannelE2E has tracked include:

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