Mergers and Acquisitions, Mergers and Acquisitions, MSP, Content, Private equity, Unified communications

PE-Backed Upstack Acquires Universal, The Communications Company

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Business concept, male hand putting missing piece of jigsaw puzzle with copy space

Communications and digital infrastructure company Upstack, backed by private equity firm Berkshire Partners, has acquired Universal Telecommunications Inc. and its sister company Universal Solutions Providers. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is technology M&A deal number 344 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.

Universal Telecommunications is a full-service telecom agency while Universal Solutions is an IT managed services provider. The pair are collectively known as Universal, the Communications Company.

Founded in 1996, Universal is based in Deerfield Beach, Florida and provides IT, network and voice solutions to private and public sector businesses. As part of the deal, the company’s managing member Mervyn Gervis will join Upstack as a partner, while other members of the Universal leadership team will serve in senior roles within the new organization.

Upstack Acquires Universal: “An Exciting Addition”

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

Christopher Trapp, CEO, Upstack, commented:

“Universal is one of the few organizations to deliver on the promise of telecom and IT convergence for their business clients. What's more, they've been doing so for a decade. They're true innovators. That, along with their commitment to unparalleled service, make Universal an exciting addition to the Upstack team.”

Mervyn Gervis, managing member, Universal, said:

“Our two entities give us the ability to help a valued client through the highly technical issues of today's environment and provide solutions that fully support carrier to end-user complete communications. We have many loyal, long-time clients who look to our team as their 'virtual CIO' and value our personalized, dedicated service. Moving forward, we believe UPSTACK's infrastructure and operational support, such as order processing and project management, will greatly expand our team's ability to focus on new clients with added solutions. We are poised for growth, knowing with confidence that our shared value for long-term commitment to clients matches that of the Upstack team.”

Upstack’s M&A Strategy

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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