Private equity firm American Securities LLC is acquiring IT consulting firm and Microsoft Azure cloud partner Trace3 from H.I.G. Capital. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This is technology M&A deal number 596 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2021. See all technology M&A deals for 2021 and 2020 listed here.
Trace3 Business Focus, Previous Acquisitions
Trace3, founded in 2002, has cloud, data center design, security and business intelligence expertise. The company, headquartered in Irvine, California, also provides a venture capital (VC) CXO briefing program -- which provides IT research and trend analysis to customers.
Trace3's managed services span cloud, managed network, network operations center NOC), and infrastructure capabilities (known as SmartHands).
The American Securities deal surfaces roughly six months after Trace3 acquired Groupware Technology. The resulting company has roughly 1,000 employees. At the time of the Groupware Technology merger, Trace3 described itself as a $1.5 billion company -- though the business did not say whether the figure represented a valuation or annual revenues. Trace3 previously acquired Data Strategy LLC in August 2018.
American Securities is a U.S. private equity firm based in New York with additional offices in Shanghai. The firm invests in North American companies with annual revenues generally ranging from $200 million to $2 billion, the PE firm says
Trace3 Acquired: Executive Perspectives
In a prepared statement about the American Securities deal, Trace3 CEO Rich Fennessy said:
"Our team is proud and excited to partner with American Securities as we embark on our next phase of growth. With their support, we will continue investing in our talent and expanding our services capabilities to deliver industry-leading consulting and technology solutions to our clients."
Kevin Penn, a managing director of American Securities, added:
"Trace3's deep engineering expertise, extensive suite of capabilities, and differentiated focus on emerging technology uniquely positions the Company to address evolving technology challenges for its clients. We are excited to partner with Rich and team to further fuel Trace3's industry leading platform. We believe that our experience in the industry allows us to deliver value that will enhance the Company's great growth trajectory."
The deal involves multiple third-party advisors. For instance:
- Guggenheim Securities LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Trace3;
- Akerman LLP and Latham & Watkins LLP is serving as legal counsel to Trace3 and H.I.G.; and
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal counsel to American Securities.
